Editing Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve (section)

== History ==
[[File:Isle Cabo Blanco.jpg|right|thumb]]
Up to the 1960s the lands that now constitute the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve were being depleted of their natural forests for use as farm and pasture land. The emphasis in those days was to develop and increase agricultural production and cattle, and little concern was given to conservation of natural habitats.

[[Nils Olof Wessberg]] (known as Nicolás) and [[Karen Mogensen]] arrived in Costa Rica 1955 in the pursuit of Karen's dream of finding happiness in harmony with nature. They chose to establish themselves in the Nicoya Peninsula.

Soon after establishing themselves in a farm near the Montezuma area, Nicolás set up on an expedition to the Cabo Blanco area in search for native tree seeds to reforest their newly acquired farm. Upon arriving to the area, he was amazed at the abundant wildlife and the size of the trees in the area. This was like an oasis in the midst of a desert as all lands around had been devastated to give way to low-yield pasture and agricultural lands.

This experience was what triggered their determination to save and preserve this "natural jewel". With the aid of international conservation societies, they bought {{Convert|1250|ha|acre}} of land in 1963 and turned these lands into the first protected area in all of Costa Rica.

Nicolas was murdered in 1975 while he was campaigning to protect Osa Peninsula from depletion by hunting, forest and gold exploitation. Karen died in 1994. Their bodies are buried at the Nicolas Wessberg Natural Reserve which was the original farm they bought when first arrived in the Montezuma area.