Alerce Costero National Park
| Alerce Costero National Park | |
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IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
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| Location | La Unión, Chile commune, Los Ríos Region, Chile |
| Nearest city | La Unión, Chile |
| Coordinates | 40°11′0″S 73°28′0″W / 40.18333°S 73.46667°WCoordinates: 40°11′0″S 73°28′0″W / 40.18333°S 73.46667°W |
| Area | 24,000 ha |
| Established | 1987, it change its status in 2012 to National Reserve |
| Governing body | Corporación Nacional Forestal |
Alerce Costero National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Alerce Costero, Spanish pronunciation: [aˈlerse kosˈteɾo]) is a protected wild area in the Cordillera Pelada about 137 km from Valdivia and 49 km from La Unión.Fitzroya trees grow inside the protected area and give the area its name, with Alerce Costero translating as Coastal Fitzroya. The Natural Monument has a total area of 24,000 ha.
Alerce Costero National Park has its origins in the National Monument Alerce Costero, created on January 3, 1987 by the Chilean government. In 2012 the area was elevated to national park status and was renamed Alerce Costero National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Alerce Costero). The new national park is the result of a public-private collaboration that united the state-owned Alerce Costero National Monument, Valdivia National Reserve and Quitaluto estate with land donated by The Nature Conservancy, which also owns the adjacent Valdivian Coastal Reserve.
The park is administered by CONAF (the Chilean National Forest Corporation), has a total surface area of 24,000 ha, and rises to a maximum altitude of 1,048 metres. The geography of the park make it suitable for many species of endemic birds and mammals with very specific habitat requirement. One of the goals of the park is to protect the Valdivian temperate rain forest and help maintain Chaihuín river basin, an important watercourse in the region, while also protecting the Chaihuín community that depend on the river. The unique ecosystem of the southern Chilean Coast Range and Valdivian temperate rain forest makes this a priority site for biodiversity conservation. The mountainous area served as a refuge from the devastating effects of the last glaciation which occurred during the Quaternary Period, and more recently from the effects of volcanic activity. It has not, however, been kept safe human activity and is today classes as a threatened area.
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