Carta Fish and Wildlife Corredor Feb 2011

8/6/2019 Carta Fish and Wildlife Corredor Feb 2011

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Carr. 301 I(l\fI 5. , Bo. CorozoP.O. Box 491

Boclueron. PI 1 OOG22

Leslie J. I-Ietniiidez Cresp oActing CllainnaiiPuerto Rico Planning Boai-dP O B o s 41119San Juan, Puerlo Rico 00940- 1 1 I 9

7 3.3 ,.,

.

Re: 1'1-oposed Norlbenst Grea t Reserve-;-;'Fajal.clo and Luquilio, Puecto Ricoi.!?,

,'3

Dear Ms. I-IemAndez Ci*espo: +his letter is regarding t l ~ e ublic I-learing Notice dated February 5, 201 1, proposecl adoptioli

th e plan ancl spe cial zoi1i112 ~*cguia tio nsor the special planniog area of tll e no~ *th east reatResel-\re an d the clesignation of the Nal~ i ra lGreat Rzsel.ve of the Northeast Ecological Corridor

(GRNCEN). Our co m m en ~s onstitutu technical assistance and are pro \/ided undcl. the

Eiitlangered S peci ss Act (Act) (87 Stat. 883, ns amended ; I G LJnited States Code 153 1 el set].),and the Fish and Wildl.ife C oo ~~ ~l iu ai io nct (-48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.).

Th e U.S. Fish and WildIil'c Scrviee (Tlic Serv icc) suppol-ts tlie lon g tcrill conservation ofecologically valuable fish ~unc l~vildliTe esources ~ vi th inhc San Migucl, Paulina, anci Coii~lentofann s. Tlie area comprises over 3,000 acres of both public and private lands ~vh icli upportiiilporta~lt ea tu i~ le esting bcaches, including onc of Ilic most in ~po rtaut icsting beaches for theendangered leatherba ck sca turtle in tlie Car ibbe an: coastnI forests, mang roves, and ripai.ian andestuarine ecosyslems. Tlie arca is acl.jacent lo coral 1.eel5mid a bioluminescent lagoon.

'The Servicc pl.oviclcc1 Ii~ncIing.eso\lrces f(jr acquisition in (h c S31i Fvligi~el rea. Betwe en 2 007and 200 S, tlie Service Iias a~vn~.dccl11ol.e . l i a i $4,000 ,000.00 for tlic acquisition ol'over 4 00 acres

in the arm. The Service ~ v il con tiiiue suppo rt acq uisition ef lbt ts i n the area to ensure long te1.111

c onse ~ ~ va t ionl ' these lands. We encourage h e (Jommonu;eal th of P ~ ~ e r t oico to manage thearca as a natural reserve i~lteg ratin golig tern1 landscape conservation strategies will1 co~upatiblepublic uses, thus, maintaining t l ~ entegrity of the ecosyste m. Dev elopm ent pro-jects should bemaintain ed outs ide of the I-esei-ve. h4n11agi11g nd regulating use of "in holdings" u~ ith indesign ated naiul.al i.esei-ves aiid publi;.: I'oresis provide c onserva tion challen ges d ~ a t v ou ld edi l ' f ic~~ l to ndtiress.



M s. T-ler-nandez

T he S ervice reviewed the proposed plan and special zoning r+egulation or the G RN CE N and Iias

the follo\v i~lg omn1ents:

a. Th e plannin g do cu nle ~lt s or the GR N CE N ad dress an overall Sp ecial Plai111i11g reawith new zoning designations, and the actual areas to be incIucled in the GR NC EN . Th e zo ili~ lg

chailges \vithin the Specia l Plaiming Area a re substantial as they extend the areas zoned as BQ

(Bosque) (most were brn1erIy zoned as A-2). Th e o\le~.all rea of the GR NC EN excludes

specific areas that were Formerly i~lc lud ed n the Corredor Ecol6gico del Noreste (CE N), but

include the major rivers and stream s to the south of PR-3 going up into [he El Y~ mq ue a tional

Forest. T he ma.jor areas \vithin the CE N that are no\v exclucled include the area s Formerly

p i- o ~ o s ed oi. tile D os M arcs prqjecl, zi~lcl.nreas.vii!iin t l ~ e ill on th e ;:ast ed ge of tile Sa ll ~v'v'liguet.-.l~ropei-ties, ncl udi i~g arts O F the l'aulii~a farm to the west o r the Cio Ju an M artin. I hesc are

designated for sustainable tourism cle\~ elop il~en tTS) ('Turismo Soslenible). So m e areas to the

south o f the Seven Se as iSeservehave also been excluded, and are clesignatecl for mixed uses (UIMor Uso A4ixto), nrhich is essentially unrestricted.

b. Wc ncla~o\vledg chc eFCort O F l l ~ e roposal Tor the GI II C E N lo col ~n eclhe El Yunque

Nalioilal Forest to the CEN area. This initiative espancls the area s to be zon ed a s BQ and it is

very iin porlan l Tor wilclliFe cnnn eclivity . A cco rdin g to t l ~ c lan, vsrialions to the zoniiig \ \ / i l l not

be permitte d. In the past these variations have beell appro ved ancl the El Yun qu e Natioilal F orest

is becorning an isolated "islancl" am idsl ~n o sl ly esidential de.ve lopn~ cni.

c. W e consicler that the PR zoning (I%-esesvacioncle R~CLII .SOS)roposed To]. !he Sail

Migu el, Paulina, and Con\rento Lirins ate appropriate. Ho\veves, there are three areas or patchesto the ilorrll of road PR -3 that \irere held o ut of this zon ing des ignatio n, suc11 as llle lop of the

mountain in San MiguelIPrzulii~a, ne point clown to the beach area, and a portion oC the

previously approved Dos Mares Developlnent . We are co~ ~c er i le degarding possible direct,

indirect, i~~tei-relatedncl interclependent effects of tllcsc clevelopments o n tlle eKective

conservation of import.mt resources \villlin the GRNCEN. Regarding these ihrec areas oi-

palch es \\re are provicling the rollo\ving c o n ~ m c n ts . nd \ye ai-e altacliing a ma p clepicting these

arca s Ibl- a be lle l unciersta11ciii;g:

( I ) Scc ar m labcled as 1 in the allacllecl map: 'l'he areas lo be \vithT~eiclFol. clc\~elol?m ell1

(TS ) within the Sa n Miguel and Pauliila properlies lie011

the largehi l l

ovesiooking theSa n Miguel and Co nven to beaches. The area wa s previously cleared ancl clisturbecl,

howe ver, s om e forest has been recupel-aling. Th e area has a strip going cIo\vn lo the

easte rn edg e of the Sail ivliguel beach. It is unclear if that is to provide beach acc ess for

residents 01.Quests,or if i t i s also to be cleveloped with structures. Th e west side of this

iuholding lies 011 the hill slo pes goin g clo\vn to the Rio Juan h4arlin. Th is inholding in the

GR NC EN will Cragnlent som e of the ha bi ~a tsv itliin the GRNCEN, a ~ ~ c ll e \~c lopn~en tf

rhe area poses a potential light p o ll ~ ~ ti o nhreat to the sea t ~ ~ s l l e~es ti l lz eaches.

Ac cordi ng to [he zoning restrictions the height o r buildings will be limitecl 10 2 loors,

alltl illumination will be limitecl and c on ~ro lIec l, ul this is not s pecific en ough rot. this

location. IVc rcco~-i~menclhis designalion be re-considel-cd and m ore restrictive meas ures



Ms. Hernandez 3

be implemented in the area. Any proposed measure should be enrorceable. In Puei-lo

Rico t11ei.e are no lightin g coclcs or regulations. Lighting pollution TI.OIII e s c areas could

arlect [he Sarl Miguel and Conveilto bcach areas.

(2) See a rea labelcd as 2 in the attached m ap: T he areas 11ial.ked as TS wilhin t l ~ c

Convento incIude a rectangular area on lop o f a small hill ov erloo l~ing orested urctlandsand beach. joined lo the re~n aincler f the inholding property by a small existing dirt road.All of the area lies adjaceilt to rorestecl area currently p~.op osedTor designaiion by DNER

as Critical I-Iabitat Tor the Virgin Islancls tree boa, awl tlie rectangular area. while notincluded in the designation, i t \voulcl fragm ent the habitat. I-Iabitat Cragmentation is one

oftlie threats Cor the V1 tree boa: and roads, in par licu lar, pose a Lhreat Ij.0111vehicles tothe species. It- is not c lea r what t!ie pui-posc o r this area \ \ r i l l tie, l~oiveve~.,t appears ihar i l

could be significant as i t is includcd as TS. Wc recommencl that this area I)e taken out ofT S designation an d, at minimum , be clesignated as CR.

(3) See area labelccl as 3 in the attaclled map : O ther areas south oC the Seven S cas Parkare now to be zoned as Uhd, with minimal restl-ictioi~s.Th ese lie eil l~ er nllllediatelyadjacent to or partially within areas currently proposccl as Critical IJabitat Cor the VI Tree

Boa. Areas within this dcsignalion should bc dcsignatcd as PR, and there should be some

burrer designation, pal-titularly Tor adjacent areas which \\lould remain undcr UM zoning.

Addilioually, tlie rorestcd hills in [he area a id along the roacl lo [he Go ve alo r's ~.es iden ce

susta in po pu la tio ~l s Cso111e federally listed plant spec ies, specifica lly palo cle rosa(Uffoschr~J/zin.hocfo,uyfon), aralla (Scl?oel!jjc~ I ' C I ? C ~ I - ~ C I ) ,ncl mntabuey (Go e/zeu e/egar?s),

and shoulc1 have parliculariy resiriclive a l l o ~ ~ e dses.

d. Delineation and conse i.\lation of fo rested ripa rian col.riclors is a viable m ech anism Tormaintaining biological connecti\iity between the El Yuilque National Forest and coastal habitats

cvithin the GR NC EN . Th e proposed plan states tllal streams ~narlced s part of the Gk Y CE N areincluded \vith 20 nleler buffers to eilhei* icle O F il1e slte am s [hat cannol be developcc l. I-T o~ ~e ve r

this with the caveal that esis ting cle\relopment is exem pt. No te l l lnt the streams ~naldcedTor the20 meter buffers are on ly [he principal rivers ancl slre am s, and clo no1 include sma ller Irib~ rlnries.Ncvertheiess, there is n SO melei- oirt're~. ouing fio ~; i ny scruci11i.e or pa ik ii ~ go : stream will-iin

Cli (Co~~servac ionle Recursos) ancl R Q d e s i g ~ ~ a t i o n sreas. 'rh e cliffcrence bet\vccn 20 and 50

metess buTfe1.s \\{ill probably crcatc C O I I ~ L I S ~ O I I .Ve ~ C C O I I ~ I ~ I C ~ I C ~a t the 50 ilzetel-s wide burfer. on

both sicles of 111ajor strezuns, be applietl to s treams \vilhin [h e GRN CE N ancl to s trcnms in areas

designatecl as CR or BQ. Th e 20 meters wide buffelasshould only be applied to smal1ei- s t~ ;e a n ~ sthat lie within the overall Special Planning h e a . 'I'he establishm enl of 20 meters \vide buffer

zones along streams should also be i~~corporatedn areas zonecl as AD (Area Desal.rollada). A

good strategy to support h e conserva tion effol-ts foi- the GR NC EN is to offer incen lives (e.g.,

including lax bl.eaks For incorpo~ .ating tream portions of their- pl-opertjes in p e ri ~ la l~ en t

conservalion easem ents) to lanclo\\ine~.s OI. .er01-esting orclers of s t ~ - e n n ~ sunning through

ptivate lands. 'Tliis initiative is essential to create and maintain connectivity bet\veen the

GRNCEN and El Yuncluc National Forest. Wc encourage the use of native \/egct;~tion or re-

Ibrestation e-frorts wilhin the GR NC EN , inclilding burl'er arcas .



Ms. Herlia~idez 4

e . Th e d e s ig n a t i o ~ ~f areas as C R or PR does not include the most restricti\le sub-zoningsavailable under those definitions. I11 particular-, P R designalion still includes placement ofrelati\lely high infrastruc ture facilities for public beaches (sh ow ers, ch a~ lg in g reas, elc.), such as

the more clevelopecl public beaches in Luquillo ancl t11e Seveil Seas already available to thepublic. Tlle placenlent of facilities such as showers; ch anging roo ms, kio sl;~, ancl pailting, implya great deal of distrlrbance and infra structure, which is not supported by d ata.

f. Th e San Mig uel bea ch in particular, is highly sensitive du e to sea tul-tlc ncsling. I11

fa ct, t he Sen li cc f ~ ~ n d ssed for accluisition iilcludcd $3 miIlion in rlueatened and endangeredspecies non-traditional recovery land acqujsitioll funds. Therefore, we r e c o ~ i u i ~ e ~ ~ c lhat beachareas within the GL VC EN be maintained as \vilclcniess style beach areas. The only public beachinfiastructui-c that migh t b c desirable \voi!ld bc so!~iething ilts a coi~-iposlii;g oilct facility(similar rhosc constructed in Gufinica and h/Tona Islancl), aucl i t should be located wcll off tliebeach (behind tlie dune li ne). Ally car parkiilg should also be restricted by lil'nits on use density.

ThcreS I I O L I ~ C I

be no facilities that recluire night lighting anyw here011

San Miguel 01. lic Paulinaand Convento beaches.

g. Th e list of species doe s not in clude [h e Virgin Tslancls tree boa. The GICNCEN 110t

only contains suitabIe habitat for rl~ e I b ee boa, but the spccics has also been docum ented in tha r e a . F u r l I ~ c r l ~ ~ o ~ * e ,everal areas \vilhin 11:e G l& iC EN to the north of road PR -3 are currentlyunder considel-ation for d es ig ~ ~ al io ns Ci.ilical I-Iabitat for this spccies Ily DNE R. This is notmenlioned i n Chaplel. G o f the documcnl.

11. Tllc coaslal forests wiihin ( he Spccia l Plan ning Area, particularly towarcls the El

Yun que Nalioilal Forest may contail1 additional plant spe cies not included i n the biologicalevaluatioll (Cha pter 6). Th e evaluarion wa s apl)ai.ently based on plants la ~ o\ vno occur \vitl ~inthe orig inally proposecl CEN. Acldilionally, the fbresled houndasies of El Yunque NationalForest coulc1 suppo rl fcdel-ally listed pla11t species, s u c l ~ s chupacallos (P le o de n d- o ~ ir.r7ncmnrhun7) palo dc rosa (O tfo scl .~ ~l lzi a~horloxylor7),nd cap6 rosa (Callicalp a nipf fa). Thesespe cies shoulcl be added to the list. Sin cc lhc GR NC EN is soine\\:hat exp anded lo the borders ofEl Yunq ue National Foses l. 'T'hal esl ended zoiie sl~o ulcl e incluclcd in the evaluations of anypi-oposcd deveIopn1eni pl.o.jeci Tor rl;e area.

i. ' f l ~ e zrcas designatecl IJh4 along PR-3 sllould also contain lighling ~.estrjcliolis,

particularly for*conlinercia1 enterpi.iscs, Specifica lly, canopy lig hling sl~ ou ld e prohibited, andall slreet, residential o r conune l*cial ighting should be propel-ly dirccted downwarcls. Sk y glo win [his area, parlicularty tow alds the western end ol'lhe GR NC EN , could sel-iously affect thequaIity o f [Re sea turtle neslin g beache s in [he area. Th e Pue1.10 Ric o C onserva tion Tiaust hasbeen \vorlting \vitjl the Puerto Rico Energy Au~I~ositynd with pul)lic outreach to reduce artificialighting im pacls in the area , parlicula~ .ly n the Las Croa bas . Th is project may be used as anesa iupl e lo deinonslrate [he usc of approp~ .ialc ighting in coastal x e a s .

.i. We conlinue lo recomm c~~ clhat lan ds with ecological \ ~ a lu cocalecl ~\~ it hi rihe

bou i~d aric s f [he GR NC EN be clcsignaled and managccl as a nalul-al rcscl.\reand shoulcl 1101 bes u l~ j e c to urban clcv clopinc~ lt ncl fiagm eulalion.



M s. Hernandez

I< . In addition , \.ye arc vcry co ncerne d rcgarding the clircct, indirect and cum ulative

effects o f resiclential projects on the fish and ~ hfild lifeesources o f the G R I C E N , pal-ticularly the

habitat charactel-istics llcedcd for lon g term survival o f the e~lclailgered catherbacl< se a t~u-tle n

the area. At the present time, llle Scrvice is reviewing a pelitiou lo designate the bcaches of the

CEN as critical habitat Tor the encla~ ~gerec lealherbacI< sc a till-Lle. Thc beaches sl10i11d be

maintained dark, forested, aucl l ic e of clogs; horses ancl veh icles to en sur e successfir1 nesting o r

the species. V isi t al io ~~f bcaches by people during night time should be acti~ relymanaged to

minim ize harassment during turtle ~ies tiiig eason. Th ese aspects of the natural reserve shouId be

ca ref~ l ll y liscussed and integrated i nto any m a ~ ~ a g e ~ n c ~ ~ tlan for the arcs.

In sirmnlary, w e aclmo~vlecige h e in~el-csr clile Pucrm i3co Piannl~lg30ai.d allcl DNER o

promote conservalion efforts i n the GRNCEN . Wc coilsidcr [ha[ thc ecological importance of

the arca requ ircs additional protection of fish and wilclIi fc resources. W c are comrnitled to

colltiilue ~vo i'kingwith thc C o ~ ~ ~ ~ i i o ~ ~ ~ v e a l t hf Pu erto Rico ex ploriilg ad ditional a1 ternativcs to

ens ure the long term c onserv ation o f the area for tile benefit of ou r people. 1T'you have any

que stion s, please con tact Be verly Yosl~iolca t 787-85 1-7297 extension 224.

Sincercl y you rs,

Field Supervisor 'Caribb ean Fielcl Oll icc

CC

Secretary DN l<R



Carta Fish and Wildlife Corredor Feb 2011

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