Mico Leão Preto Ecological Station

Mico Leão Preto Ecological Station
Estação Ecológica Mico Leão Preto
IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)
Eng Sérgio Motta Dam reservoir to the north. Light blue: Great Pontal Reserve, mostly deforested. Small black areas in red: Mico Leão Preto ESEC. Large black area in yellow: Morro do Diabo PES
Nearest city	Teodoro Sampaio, São Paulo
Coordinates	22°13′54″S 52°14′04″W / 22.231627°S 52.234344°W / -22.231627; -52.234344Coordinates: 22°13′54″S 52°14′04″W / 22.231627°S 52.234344°W / -22.231627; -52.234344
Area	6,677 hectares (16,500 acres)
Designation	Ecological station
Created	16 July 2002
Administrator	Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation

The Mico Leão Preto Ecological Station (Portuguese: Estação Ecológica Mico Leão Preto) is an Ecological station in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects four fragments of Atlantic Forest in a region that has lost most of its forest coverage over the last century, and protects the endemic endangered black lion tamarin (Portuguese: Mico-leão-preto), which gives the reserve its name.

The Mico Leão Preto Ecological Station (ESEC) is divided between the municipalities of Euclides da Cunha Paulista (29.99%), Marabá Paulista (22.88%), Presidente Epitácio (10.66%) and Teodoro Sampaio (36.42%) in the state of São Paulo. It is in the extreme west of the state to the north of the Paranapanema River and the Morro do Diabo State Park, and to the south of the Itaipu Dam reservoir on the Paraná River. The ESEC is divided into four separate fragments of Atlantic Forest: Água Sumida with 1,199 hectares (2,960 acres), Ponte Branca with 1,306 hectares (3,230 acres), Tucano with 2,115 hectares (5,230 acres) and Santa Maria with 2,057 hectares (5,080 acres), totalling 6,677 hectares (16,500 acres). The ESEC is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation.

European occupation of the region began in earnest when the Sorocabana Railway reached the Paraná River in 1917. Urban centers were built along the railway and intensive logging began, followed by farming of coffee, cotton, peanuts and cattle. The state government created the Morro do Diabo Forest Reserve in 1941, now the Morro do Diabo State Park. In 1942 the 247,000 hectares (610,000 acres) Great Pontal Reserve and the São Paulo Lagoon Reserve were created. Over the years that followed these two reserves were invaded by squatters and deforested, often with government support. In 1975 the state launched construction of hydroelectric power plants on the Paranapanema and Paraná Rivers. Employees on these projects squatted on land in the reserves after they were dismissed. However, low fertility of the soil and distance from natural markets has meant that only cattle and sugarcane are profitable, and the region is the poorest in the state of São Paulo.