Thanks for dropping by! I've been away from steemland for a bit - but I'm back now! Here we go with your questions (and it the Dominican Republic, not Costa Rica) :-) :

Most of the DR is forested. I haven't explored it a great deal, but from the air it's certainly tree covered. I haven't seen anything that looks like old growth - certainly no giant oaks or anything of the sort, but the jungle does seem to be thick and healthy. 

There are some signs of agriculture  happening. I believe sugar cane is popular on the island. I see lots of fresh bananas and of course coconut. They also have lots of cows - Brahmans if I'm not mistaken. I could be mistaken though; I really don't know anything about cows.

And yes - I like the idea of my tourist dollars stimulating the economy, but it's my understanding that the vast majority of the DR is owned by foreigners. I doubt that much of my dollar trickles down to the folks I rode by on my high horse, but I'd like to think that it does. Perhaps one of these days I can help them in some more substantial way. :-)