They decided to protect the remaining lush lowland jungle and coastal marshes that surround their homes and try to make a living by attracting bird watchers and nature lovers from nearby Puerto Vallarta and San Blas.

I made my second post-hurricane visit to Singayta last January and found a fledging but inspiring attempt at community-based ecotourism. It is one of the few places in Latin America where I felt that every dollar spent on tourism was going to a good cause.

If Singayta is successful, it will become a model for nearby communities looking for a sustainable alternative to farming, logging and hunting. It will slow the loss of tropical forests and assure long-term protection for some critical natural areas.

Preservation of these lands would have far-reaching impacts, since this part of western Mexico is the wintertime home for many of the birds that breed in the United States and Canada in the summer. Survival of many of "our" Utah birds may hinge on the success of projects like Singayta.

International welcome: It was hot and sunny on a late January morning when our bus full of bird-watchers pulled into this village of about 40 families. A new sign on the highway said: "Bienvenidos a/Welcome to Singayta." It was written in English and Spanish - a clear indication of the type of tourist the town hopes to attract.

The tour was part of the first International Festival of Migratory Birds in the Mexican state of Nayarit. Those on the bus included 11 visitors from Utah and Wyoming who were visiting Mexico for the bird festival. All were members of the Linking Communities, Wetlands and Migratory Birds organization that encourages community-based habitat-protection efforts along an important bird migration path that runs from Saskatchewan, Canada, through the Great Salt Lake, and ends in the mangrove swamps near Singayta.

Also on the tour were some retired Canadians, Americans and British who spend the winter in San Blas, and several Mexicans from San Blas and Tepic.

The town - really just a village - is typical of this part of Mexico: a couple of dirt roads running through a cluster of small houses built of adobe and concrete blocks. There is a nice elementary school and a tiny church. Papaya and mango trees grow in the gardens.

The 165 residents are mostly members of two indigenous groups who moved there in the early 20th century. They survived by hunting, farming, collecting palm nuts for oil, and cutting palm fronds for thatched roofs. All these sources of income were lost or severely damaged in the hurricane. That's when they gambled on tourism.

Special setting: A remarkable thing about Singayta is its cleanliness. In keeping with the goal of being environmentally conscious, there is almost no trash on the streets. Signs posted next to garbage cans distributed throughout town bear slogans such as: "We're happy to live and work in a clean community."

In fact, Singayta received an award in 2004 for being the cleanest tourist town in Nayarit. That's the state on Mexico's west coast wedged between Sinaloa (where Mazatlan is) and Jalisco (where Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta are).

What makes Singayta special is its location at the foot of a small range of jungle-covered mountains with a vast mangrove swamp spreading out in front of it. Many of the most interesting birds can be seen in trees and fields right in the village.

Hurricane Kenna flattened most of the large trees in the jungle above Singayta, leaving only the flexible palm trees rising above a dense thicket of small trees and bushes.

Manuel Lomel', our excellent English-speaking guide from San Blas, said the hurricane temporarily displaced a few species of birds and created new habitat for others. But the forest is recovering quickly and bird watching is pretty much as before the storm.

Birds from near and far: Moments after arriving in Singayta, retired Ogden schoolteacher Yae Bryner spotted a russet-crowned motmot sitting quietly in a tree by the highway. This is a stunning tropical bird with two long tail feathers shaped something like tennis rackets.

During a four-hour guided jungle walk and boat ride through the swamp, we also saw birds such as white-fronted parrots, black-throated magpie-jay, magnificent frigatebird, northern jacana and yellow-winged cacique.

What makes visiting Singayta in the winter so fascinating is that many of "our" birds from the Intermountain West are mixed in with their tropical cousins. There were American white pelicans that probably nest on the Great Salt Lake, turkey vultures, peregrine falcons and Wilson's warblers.

"It was an extremely interesting birding experience," said Wayne Martinson, Utah Important Bird Areas coordinator for the National Audubon Society and participant in the Singayta trip.

Easy access to so many birds has long made Singayta one of the best birding areas in the region. But it wasn't until after the hurricane that residents decided to take full advantage of their natural resources and try to develop a more stable and lucrative economy based on tourism.

Working with a tiny grant and donated labor, they have built a large new public restroom, an outdoor kitchen to prepare meals for visitors, and a small community center that also serves as a store selling T-shirts and handicrafts made by people from the community. The facilities are basic but more than adequate for even a mildly adventurous traveler.

There is a new plant nursery where residents are growing trees that will be used to revegetate former farmlands. They also are growing ornamental plants that are sold to people living in the area.

Plans are under way for new nature trails through the jungle and to train local residents as guides.

An orchard of papaya trees on the edge of town is one of the best places to see birds and other animals. That's because residents harvest only about half of the fruit. The rest is left for wildlife. It's a good place to see raccoons, armadillos, black-vented orioles and golden-checked woodpeckers.

There were also painted buntings flitting through the weeds. This is a colorful little bird that breeds in the southeastern United States.

It costs $2 a person for visitors to wander through Singayta. As we left, I found myself digging into my wallet to offer more to help make the vision for this progressive little town a reality.

To learn more about Singayta, check out its Web site, http: //www.singayta.com.

Flying and driving to Singayta

Getting there: The cheapest and easiest way to get to Singayta probably is to fly into Puerto Vallarta and rent a car for the 2 1/2 -hour drive north along the coast. Buses also run from Puerto Vallarta to San Blas. From San Blas, you can take another bus or a taxi to Singayta, which is 10 miles away.

Another option is to fly into Tepic, the capital of Nayarit. It is only an hour drive from Tepic to Singayta. However, there are fewer flights into Tepic, the connections are more complicated, and the tickets tend to be more expensive than flying into Puerto Vallarta.

Where to stay: There are no hotels in Singayta. A nice place to stay is the Hotel Garza Canela in San Blas. This is a beautiful hotel with a swimming pool and excellent restaurant. It is a 10-minute walk to the beach. This hotel is the center for birding tours and birding information in San Blas. Single rooms cost around $60 a night. For more information, check the Web site: http://www.garzacanela.com/.

Another wonderful place to stay is the Hotel Paraiso Miramar, on a rocky point several miles south of San Blas. It offers rooms, small cabins, areas for camping, and a nice restaurant. The trees and wetlands on the hotel grounds are excellent for bird-watching, and the owner is committed to the ideals of ecotourism. Phone and fax from the United States is: 011-52-323-254-9030. E-mail: paraisomiramar@yahoo.com.

Guides: Manuel Lomel' is one of the best guides in San Blas. He offers jungle hikes and boat trips to see birds, is an expert on plants of the area, and knows the history, too. The cost is $100 for a half day. He can be contacted through either of the two hotels mentioned above, or you can call him to arrange a tour. The number, when dialed from the United States, is: 011-52-323-285-05-58. He does not have e-mail.

Utah guide Mark Stackhouse leads bird-watching tours from San Blas that often include a stop in Singayta. His company is called Westwings. He can be contacted at his offices in Salt Lake City, 801-487-9453, or in San Blas: 011-52-323-285-1243. He also is available by e-mail at: westwings@sisna.com.