Puerto Rico Critical Wildlife Areas - Puerto DRNA - Gobierno de ...

31- East Tip of Vieques and Conejo Cay, Vieques Island
Area Description:
The east point of Vieques, which includes Cerro Matías, Matías Lagoon, Punta Salinas,
Punta Este, Blanca Beach, Anones Lagoon, Salinas del Sur Bay and Jalobre Mount among
others, is an important habitat for wildlife species. This part of Vieques lay within the bombing
range of the Camp García Marine Base. This area has been under continually bombing from the
United States NAVY practice maneuvers for over sixty years and most of the area is known to
be contaminated. The whole east of Vieques covers 5,867.95 ha and still important habitat for
wildlife and for endangered species (Oscar Diaz, Refuge manager, pers. comm.).
Conejo Cay is located about 1.6 km south of Cerro Matías in Vieques and it is an
important nesting habitat for marine bird species. During the 1960’s this small island was used
as a bombing target.
Ownership/Protection:
This area is part of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge, administered by the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, and part of Caribbean Island National Wildlife Refuges.
Special Recognition:
In 2004, BirdLife International and SOPI recognized the east tip of Vieques and Conejo
Cay as an Important Bird Area. The DNER recognized this as a prime wildlife area.
Wildlife:
Birds
Birds reported in the east side of Vieques include: White-tailed tropicbird Phaeton
lepturus, White-checked pintail Anas bahamensis-this species use the area as nesting site, as
well as the Roseate tern Sterna dougalli (Oscar Diaz pers. comm.), Zenaida dove Zenaida
aurita, Mourning dove Z. macroura. There are also historical reports of the presence of Greater
flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber in the Salinas de Vieques, at the extreme eastern end of this
island (Ventura Barnés 1947). Conejo Cay, also located in the east side, is an important nesting
habitat for bird species. American oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus, Roseate tern Sterna
dougallii and White-tailed tropicbird Phaeton lepturus has been reported nesting in Conejo Cay,
also this cay harbors one of the largest breeding colonies of the Brown pelican Pelecanus
occidentalis in Puerto Rico (Cardona and Rivera 1988). Other birds reported are: Caribbean coot
Fulica caribaea, Masked duck Nomonix dominicus and Ruddy duck Oxyura jamaicensis
(NOAA 2000).
Reptiles
Hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata, Leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea,
Green turtle Chelonia mydas, nests in Yellow beach and in Tortuga beach. There is also the rare
Vieques dwarf gecko Sphaerodactylus macrolepis iñigoi, and the endemic Roosevelt dwarf
gecko S. roosevelti.
Threats:
This area has been under continually bombing from the United States NAVY practice
maneuvers for over forty years and most of the area is known to be contaminated. In May 1
2003, the US NAVY maneuvers and bombing ended in Vieques lands.
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