http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=141701.0
November 3, 2009
Contacts: Oliver Bernstein, Sierra
Club, 512.289.8618
Camilla Feibelman, Sierra Club,
787-688-6214
Endangered Leatherback Turtle Habitat Threatened by Puerto
Rico
Governor's Decision
Sierra Club, Coalition Partners Will
Challenge Governor Fortuño's
Cancellation of "Nature Reserve"
Designation
San Juan, Puerto Rico – Sierra Club and its coalition
partners will
challenge Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño's proposed
cancellation of
the "nature reserve" designation held since 2008 by the
island's
Northeast Ecological Corridor.
Covering more than 3,000 acres
in the northeast corner of Puerto Rico,
the Corridor had been designated as a
nature reserve in 2008 by
preceding governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. But late
Friday, Governor
Fortuño removed the designation of nature reserve in order
to allow
for large-scale, unsustainable development in the area, including
more
than 4,500 residential and tourist units and four golf
courses.
The Corridor is one of the most important U.S. nesting grounds
for the
critically endangered Leatherback, the world's largest sea
turtles.
More than 50 rare, threatened, endangered and native species have
been
documented in the Corridor, including the Snowy Plover, the
Brown
Pelican, the Puerto Rican Boa, the Hawksbill Sea Turtle and the
West
Indian Manatee.
"The protection of the Northeast Ecological
Corridor represents not
only an opportunity to protect the second most
important Leatherback
turtle nesting beach in U.S. jurisdiction, but it is
also an
opportunity to develop nearby towns as gateway communities with
small
businesses and good ecotourism jobs," said Camilla Feibelman,
Puerto
Rico representative for the Sierra Club.
The Corridor's
location within the foothills of El Yunque National
Forest has made it a
target of developers, including two proposed mega
resorts: the Dos Mares
Marriott Resort -- consisting of 3,450
residential and tourist units and 2
golf courses – and the San Miguel
Four Seasons Resort -- consisting of 1,450
residential and hotel units
and two golf courses. The resorts would result in
massive
deforestation, the filling of wetlands, channelization of rivers,
and
the removal of coastal vegetation, significantly impacting the
species
and other living resources that depend on the
Corridor.
"Sierra Club and its coalition partners are mobilizing
supporters to
call on Governor Fortuño to reverse his decision and to approve
the
Land Use and Management Plan for the Northeast Ecological
Corridor
Nature Reserve that was presented in public hearings last year and
had
overwhelming public support," said Angel Sosa, President of the
Sierra
Club of Puerto Rico. "Governor Fortuño still has a chance
to
demonstrate his commitment toward the protection and
sustainable
development of the extraordinary Northeast Ecological Corridor
before
it's too late."
Background:
On October 2007, former Governor
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá approved an
Executive Order establishing as public policy
the designation of the
Corridor as a nature reserve while promoting its
sustainable
development based on nature tourism and ecotourism activities.
This
initiative was the result of nearly 10 years of work carried out by
a
coalition of local community and environmental groups, including
Sierra
Club, National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund,
Surfrider
Foundation, and Waterkeeper Alliance, among others. The
Corridor nature
reserve has also been supported by the U.S. Forest
Service El Yunque National
Forest, the USDA International Institute of
Tropical Forestry, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, and leaders of
the main Christian churches and the
Catholic Church on the Island,
among other organizations. Actors Benicio del
Toro and Edward James
Olmos have also publicly expressed their support
towards the
protection of the
Corridor.
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