Protection of the Caribbean National Forest

Number: 1987-10

 

WHEREAS, the Caribbean National Forest, a 28,000-acre area in Puerto Rico, is the nation’s only tropical National Forest and contains a rich biota, with many rare species and some in danger of extinction; and

WHEREAS, the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, the agency that manages the National Forest, is in the process of revising a Land and Resource Management Plan for the National Forest in response to public concern for the protection of these unique and fragile resources; and

WHEREAS, the Puerto Rican parrot is the only parrot indigenous to the United States and is currently endangered; and

WHEREAS, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is simultaneously preparing a recovery plan for the endangered Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata);

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 19-22, 1987, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, hereby expresses its concern for the diverse and nationally unique life forms within this National Forest and supports coordinated planning to assure the integrity and conservation of this habitat and all its associated fish and wildlife species.