(Chamaedorea sp.) is an important source of revenue for the local people, with the ornamental leaves harvested carefully to avoid killing the plant. Types of vegetation cover include: Fauna The forest forms a vital biological corridor between North and Central America and has very diverse zoology, lying at the conjunction between the Nearctic and Neotropical realms and spanning a range of montane and lowland habitats. It is home to species that include the ocelot, Baird's tapir, and puma. Highly threatened species include jaguar, Geoffroy's spider monkey, white-lipped peccary, horned guan, resplendent quetzal and harpy eagle. There are estimated to be more than 600 bird species, including great curassow, crested guan and ornate hawk-eagle. Recent herpetological studies have found many new forms, including at least eight endemic reptile and amphibian species. People Before the Mexican colonial period, the area was inhabited by the Chima, a Zoque people believed to be descendants of the Olmec. With the arrival of the Spanish, the Uxpanapa colony to the north established settlements on the Corte River (), which is easily navigable, and began to exploit the forest. From 1731 to 1747, the region around Santa María Chimalapa was an important source of giant pines, used for masts and beams by the Spanish navy. The trees were floated down the Corte River, which owes its name to the cutting of these trees, to Coatzacoalcos and carried across to the Havana Shipyards. Despite continued contacts with the colonialists and prospectors, in their relatively inaccessible terrain the Chimas in the forest region were largely undisturbed until the later half of the nineteenth century, when the government started selling off concessions to exploit their "vacant" lands for timber and grazing. The process slowed with the revolution of 1910, then picked up speed in the 1970s with fresh immigrants moving into the region, often assisted by the government. In the early 1970s, the federal government launched a program in the Uxpanapa region to resettle small farmers displaced by the Cerro de Oro Dam, bulldozing and burning large areas of the forest to open it up for farming. Approximately 26,000 people, mostly Chinantec, were moved into the area. The planned large scale agricultural schemes failed, although small farmers were able to make a living. The displaced people were dissatisfied with the new conditions and protested, but did not achieve much. Several of their leaders were jailed. Migrants also settled in other