Rainforest Trust has had success in expanding and protecting wildlife habitat in Bolivia. Including habitat of the Blue-throated Macaw. Once thought to be extinct in the wild, a population of nearly 50 Blue-throated Macaws was rediscovered in northeastern Bolivia in 1992. The beautiful, gold and blue parrot is one of the rarest birds in the world. These colorful birds are highly intelligent but are critically endangered due to habitat loss and the illegal pet trade.

The Laney Rickman Reserve is located in Bolivia’s Beni Savanna, a tropical ecoregion known for its plant diversity and high levels of endemism. Beni Savanna lies within the lowlands of the southwestern Amazon basin in the northern part of the country. Also known as the Llanos de Moxos, this region is one of only two unique Bolivian endemic ecosystems and consists of natural savannas, Motacu and Totai palm tree dominated forest islands, dry forest patches and river edge Amazonian forests. The wide range of habitat allows for a variety of threatened and endemic species to thrive. One-hundred and forty-six mammal species have been reported in the area, including the Giant Anteater, Jaguar and Maned Wolf, among many others. Hundreds of species of birds have also been recorded in the Beni area, including many endemic birds like the Unicolored Thrush.

In 2018, Rainforest Trust’s local partner Asociación Armonía created the Laney Rickman Reserve in the southeast portion of the Beni Savanna to protect the largest known group of nesting critically endangered Blue-throated Macaws in the world. ⁠

⁠As of 2021, Asociación Armonía has successfully fledged 105 Blue-throated Macaw chicks since the inception of the nesting box program. This year with the Blue-throated Macaw nesting season coming to an end—so far, there have been 16 nesting attempts in the 100 nest boxes monitored by the park rangers, resulting in eight chicks successfully fledging. This is significant for conservation of the species.