WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Charles Rangel joined Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi of Puerto Rico to introduce El Yunque National Forest Preservation Act, which would require the Department of Agriculture to purchase two parcels of land within the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. The bill is being referred to the House Natural Resources Committee.

"The El Yunque National Forest is one of the most beautiful and ecologically diverse ecosystems in the United States," said Rangel. "Protecting our natural resources from urbanization and climate change is crucial to protecting our way of life, and we must do our best to preserve this Puerto Rican treasure. This is an important issue for the Puerto Rican community in my Manhattan Congressional District, which is the third largest in the nation."

The El Yunque National Forest Preservation Act would mandate the Department of Agriculture to directly acquire two lands, the Charco Frio and Cartagenca Tracts, which are a critical source of water for 20 percent of Puerto Rico's eastern population. Acquisition would enhance habitat protection for endangered wildlife, consolidate water-based recreational opportunities, provide a buffer to other wilderness, and deter the effects of urbanization and climate change.

Since 1999, acquisition efforts by the Land and Water Conversation Fund have exceeded their annual appropriations budget. The Preservation Act would require the Department of Agriculture to reserve funds generated from issuing special-use permits to business concessionaires (such as food sales) within the Forest for investment and acquisition of the land. Under current law, the revenue generated is deposited in a general fund at the Department of Treasury.

"The American landscape is blessed with topographical diversity that is environmentally beneficial to wildlife and surrounding communities," added Rangel. "We must maintain our tradition of conservation which is the envy of tourists worldwide who visit our sustainable, economic prosperity." 

El Yunque is a cool, mountainous tropical rainforest occupying a small crescent-shaped area in Eastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest within the 156 units comprising the present day National Forest system administered under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As it stands, boundaries established by an Act of Congress, in 1903, cover only 45 percent of El Yunque lands.