Nature reserves in Puerto Rico


Nature Reserve of Puerto Rico is a title and special designation given by the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico to specific natural areas or features throughout the territory. All nature reserves in Puerto Rico are protected by Puerto Rico Law #150, first approved on August 8, 1988, better known as the Puerto Rico Natural Heritage Program Act that seeks to protect the natural resources of the island for the purpose of natural preservation and tourism. These are managed by different agencies within the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, public-private partnerships such as the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico and its management unit Para la naturaleza, and other grassroots and community institutions and programs.

List of marine reserves in Puerto Rico

Marine reserves in Puerto Rico are a special type of nature reserve and title that is given to special management areas that are entirely located on water. Although a type of nature reserve, these are distinct in nomenclature from nature reserves such as La Cordillera Reef Nature Reserve which has protected undersea and on-land units.
No.Marine reserveImageMunicipalitiesEst.Area
Description
1Desecheo Island Coastal WatersMayagüez20001,670Created to mitigate the effects of overfishing, this area of the Mona Passage is critically located in the migratory pathway of humpback whales. The protected area also contains coral reefs and seagrass prairies. Jointly managed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration it completely encircles Desecheo Island and the National Wildlife Refuge of the same name.
2Isla Verde ReefCarolina2012214Protected coral reef home to federally protected species such as elkhorn coral. It is located off Isla Verde, it belongs to a larger barrier reef system that stretches along the coast of the San Juan metropolitan area between Punta Maldonado in Loíza in the east to Isleta de San Juan in the west.
3Tres PalmasRincón20047,628Located off the coast of Rincón, particularly the area between Steps Beach and Punta Higuero, it was established to preserve the local coral reefs from the effects of nearby coastal development. It is home to federally protected species of coral, large numbers of coral-dwelling fish and several species of cetaceans, particularly Atlantic spotted dolphins and migrating humpback whales in the deeper zones, and bottlenose dolphins in the areas closer to the beach.