In 1963, the Peruvian government granted protection over the area, declaring it the
Alto Mayo National Forest by Law No 442; however, in the 1970s, many people started to occupy the area and clear the pristine forests. Also, workers who built a road across the national forest began to hunt the
yellow-tailed woolly monkey for its meat. The government tried to control the situation by modifying the original law, declaring only the forests in the upper part of the valley to be under protection; the rest of the former national forest was declared land for free agricultural use. The rediscovery of the yellow-tailed woolly monkey in 1974 in nearby areas attracted efforts of research and conservation to the national forest. In 1977, the local office of the Ministry of Agriculture attempted to establish boundaries and a protection category for the forest, but the initiative was forgotten. In 1979, a main road connecting the eastern forest lands with the Pacific coast (Carretera Marginal de la Selva) was opened. The same year, another free use zone was declared on land proposed for conservation within the national forest. Between 1974 and 1983, several research projects on local fauna and forest ecology were conducted, all reaching the conclusion that the area should be given conservation priority. The initiative for park delimitation and protection was resumed in 1984; the forest was protected by decree in 1987. == Geography ==