[4] The biosphere is home to 86 species of mammals, 18 of which can be found in the Official Registry of Mexican Ecology, a resource that outlines flora and fauna that are in danger of extinction, rare, threatened or are under protection.

The fauna also includes Central American agoutis, Geoffroy's spider monkeys, Yucatán black howlers, Baird's tapir, white-nosed coatis, ocellated turkeys, crested guans, toucans, and parrots.

[5] These threats include: Population growth, subsistence hunting and poaching, tourist infrastructure, and the emergence of highways and roads.

There have been proposals of a tourism destination called Maya World [5] which would involve a highway connecting different areas of the biosphere reserve.

Since then there has been disparity between the views and philosophies of the local people who live on the land and those government officials and urban environmentalists who wish to protect its resources .

In 1991 the Mexican president gave the Campesinos "care for the reserve"[6] which provided funding to aid in the protection of the remaining forests while encouraging self-sufficiency in the local farming sector.

Due to their beliefs surrounding the uses of the environment and work, many believe that those on the other side of the debate (government officials and urban environmentalists) wish to use the land for their own profitable means.