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

56- La Parguera Natural Reserve, Lajas, Puerto Rico
Area Description:
The La Parguera Natural Reserve (LPNR) is located in the southwest of Puerto Rico
(17 0 58’N, 67 0 04’W). The area includes the following islands and cays: Cayo San Cristóbal,
Cayo Laurel, Cayo Media Luna, Cayo Mario, Cayo Enrique, Cayo Turrumotte, Cayo Corral,
Isla la Gata, Cayo Caracoles, Cayo Majimo and Cayo Caballo and Ahogado. Bahía
Fosforescente (a mangrove-bordered bay on the mainland situated to the east of Parguera) and
Isla Magueyes (south of the town) are also included.
Although the majority area of the Reserve is the Lajas municipality, some terrains are
also located in Guánica and in Cabo Rojo. This Natural Reserve is located between Boquerón
State Forest and Guánica State Forest. There are no rivers in this area; therefore, runoff is the
only local source of terrestrial sediment to the marine system. Mountain chains produce a rain
shadow effect resulting in a sub-tropical dry forest (Ewel and Whitmore 1973).
The unique beauty and natural resources of La Parguera have historically attracted both
tourists and fishermen. In 1945 the area experienced its first invasion of new residents when a
Social Program Administration formed a rural community in the area. Project “Parcelas” gave
the working class land and materials for built their own homes (Krausse 1994). Development
was limited, mangrove and utilities, and the people stands were extensive, and salt flats buffered
the mangroves from anthropogenic affects. The small village became the center of commercial
fishing for the local market. Turtle grass, Thalassia testudinum, is the predominant seagrass at
La Parguera. Thalassia grows well on both muddy and sandy bottoms where its roots and
rhizomes can establish a good holdfast for the plant (Hertler, 2002).
Ownership/Protection:
The LPNR is a public land administered by the DNER. The Puerto Rico Conservation
Trust has purchased a large portion of land surrounding the bioluminescent bay in La Parguera
for conservation purposes. Despite this, development in La Parguera are continues to damage
critical marine habitats.
Special Recognition:
The area is designated as a Natural Reserve since September 1979. The presence of the
unique marine resources of southwest Puerto Rico motivated NOAA to include a 226.5 km 2
parcel of marine waters off of southwest Puerto Rico, including La Parguera, as part of the
National Marine Sanctuary Program. This program, established in 1972, protects unique marine
environments for recreation, science, education, aesthetic and historic purposes
(http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov). In addition to the Commonwealth and Federal laws and
regulations, this designation as a sanctuary extended protection to important marine
communities such as mangroves and seagrasses.
In 1987 the DNER and the US Army Corps of Engineers, still recognizing the
importance of the natural resources in this area, signed an agreement providing for strict
pollution control and declared La Parguera a Natural Wildlife Reserve, with the intention of
creating a natural area. However, in 1995, the Puerto Rico Planning Board rezoned La Parguera,
southwest Puerto Rico, as a tourist zone. In 2004, BirdLife International and SOPI recognized
LPNR as an Important Bird Area.
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