La Alfombra is a quaint community nestled in the rainforest covered mountains above Dominical. The area is part of what is called the Dante Biological Corridor with large parcels of old growth rainforest as designated by MINAE amongst other environmental organizations who have performed studies of the area. However the studies by ICE 'qualified' experts appear to be polar opposite to the professional organizations involved in the protection of the world's rainforests.

ICE has made claims in the supreme court of Costa Rica stating that the area holds no economic relevance and is comprised primarily of abandoned properties of little or no value. In reality there are three hotels directly standing in the line of the proposed route that will be forever handicapped after the towers are erected. John Paterson, owner of Rio Magnolia in La Alfombra, claims that the purposed route by ICE will cut within meters of his luxury eco resort.

"It's economic sabotage!", says John.

ICE even go as far as to say that the forests of La Alfombra are no more than 35 years old. This photo shows one of many trees that ICE is claiming to be no more than 35 years old. This is only one of 2000 trees marked for cutting within the property of Kirk McDonald Park, the most prominent voice in the fight against ICE.

Kirk has owned his 640 acres of primary rainforest in La Alfombra since 1973. Since then, he has tried his best to protect this section of old growth Costa Rican jungle by even building his own home from naturally fallen trees. Kirk's property alone has numerous natural springs that happen to be the major arteries of the Baru river shed in Dominical.

A secondary route has been proposed by the local committee that primarily consists of pasture and is without ANY old growth rainforest or natural springs. It would however, involve an approximate increase in route length by 2 kms but would not involve destroying primary rainforest and natural watersheds. MINAET, AyA, MAG and ASANA, all organizations for the preservation of natural habitats including forests, water supplies and wildlife, all agree this area needs protection and that the secondary route purposed by the committee is a far better alternative.

The community of La Alfombra formed this committee headed up by Yamileth Roman, a Costa Rican woman who has raised her family for decades in the community, and done so with the intent to fight ICE until the bitter end. The committee produced many signs protesting the installment of these high tension power lines throughout their delicate micro-climate and even protested outside court rooms in San Jose and Perez Zeledon.

This evidently upset ICE as per an off the record statement made by Pedro Pablo Quirós to Kirk McDonald Park where he stated that if the committee removed all the signs and stopped the protesting, that ICE would utilize the secondary purposed route. It's worth mentioning that ICE is currently being investigated by OIJ for their suspected involvement in the destruction of the said mentioned signs and even more series claims beyond the scope of this article however related to this situation.

"Our country has a world-renowned leadership in environmental issues. - Laura Chinchilla"

Laura Chinchilla preached plenty of great lines about the environment and how, if elected, she would strengthen this dedication by strengthening and supporting the various government agencies who's responsibility are to protect the flora, fauna and marine life within the Costa Rican borders.

The community of La Alfombra is interested in your thoughts on the clear cutting of the Dante Biological Corridor and the destruction of fresh water springs. Not to mention that it is no secret that many parts of the country suffer water shortages each year. So why destroy water sources by clear cutting primary rainforest and then placing high output EMF generating high voltage lines in a delicate eco-climate like La Alfombra? I think the country might be interested in hearing your thoughts Mrs. President. Care to share them?

Some of the tactics that ICE have used in the past throughout this process have been far from professional and more criminal than anything. By law, ICE needs to hold community meetings informing them of the impact this will have in their communities. Guess where ICE held the community meeting for La Alfombra? Two hours south in a community called Palmar Norte which is not even in the same province as La Alfombra. They held this 'meeting' without notifying anyone from La Alfombra.

The expropriation process being used by ICE goes something like this.

ICE pre profiles all the residents for many factors first. One being their financial ability to dispute. Another being whether or not you are educated on both the subjects of the lines and the legalities behind the expropriation process here in Costa Rica. Often people are left believing that if they disagree then ICE will just take the property and pay nothing. This makes many of them believe any offer from ICE is a good one as long as it involves money. Sad but very true.

Firstly, ICE is well aware of the likelihood of most Costa Ricans never seeing high voltage power lines, is high. When asked questions by people who've actually seen these lines, things like the EMF emanated from the lines, the clear cut process so common throughout the world and the connection to cancer. They simply reply that they have 'new technology' that alleviates all these problems that the older systems suffered from. Are we to believe that ICE utilizes more advanced technology than in the US and Canada? Not sure about you but today alone my power went out four times!

It would appear on the surface that despite what many environmental agencies believe to be a delicate environment, the courts of Costa Rica are siding with ICE. Maybe the courts and ICE have relationships of convenience.

The people of La Alfombra feel that if this project is permitted to rip through their precious community, it will most certainly come back to haunt Laura Chinchilla in the future. Don't turn a blind eye Mrs. President. We need your help. The La Alfombra community would also like to extend this offer for assistance to the many online/offline news sites throughout Costa Rica by affiliating this article in your publications. The more the word is out the less likely it can be ignored and together we can help 'literally' save a rainforest.

Footnote: as of the release of this article, Costa Rican native Christiana Figueres was named new chief of the UN Climate Agency. If you feel like expressing your opinion on what ICE and the government of Costa Rica are preparing to destroy, we encourage you to contact Christiana Figueres - christiana@figueresonline.com


References used in the writing of this article:
Florescent tubes light up solely from the emitted EMF fields -
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DumgUdJhzpo

EMF evaluation of high tension power lines (ICE claims an EMF of no greater than 30) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhyh7ugGjFc

The Sound of Power Lines - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnEaq4BeFH0
Acceptable EMF Levels for Home Buyers - http://www.byershomeinspections.com/emfinspections.html

This article was written by Don G. Halbert with assistance from the residents of the La Alfombra community. Please consider signing the online petition as it only takes but 30 seconds of your time and it might help in saving this incredible microclimate from being destroyed.