Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations.
You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

Prior to its designation in 1981, a large part of the present Reserve area was owned by the Aguirre Corporation, and was known as the Lugo Viñas farm. During the early 1970s, the area was considered as a potential site for an oil transshipment port, in response to the world-wide energy crisis resulting from the oil embargo imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties (OPEC).

However, the lifting of the oil embargo, combined with the enactment of the Puerto Rico Environmental Policy Act (Law # 9 of June 18, 1970, as amended), the creation of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, and the enactment of the U.S. Clean Water Act, interest in developing the Lugo Viñas farm for industrial purposes declined dramatically. This was due, in great part, to the stringent environmental policies and regulations adopted under the new legislation.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico demonstrated interest in the National estuary Research Reserve System (formerly known as the National Estuarine Sanctuary Program) in 1974. In 1975, staff from the NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) [formerly known as the NOAA Office of Coastal Zone Management (OCZM)] visited the island to inspect potential marine sanctuary sites. However, it was not until 1981 that serious consideration was given to the establishment of a National Estuarine Sanctuary under Section 315 of the CZMA.

By 1980, the Aguirre Corporation ceased operations and was in process of liquidation. That year, the corporation contacted the Sanctuary Programs Division of OCRM/NOAA, proposing to sell the Lugo Viñas farm. Based on the provision of Section 315 of the CZMA, NOAA advised the Aguirre Corporation to re-direct its offer to the Department of Natural Resources.

Early in 1981, DNR submitted a formal application to NOAA for the establishment of the Aguirre Estuarine Sanctuary. The proposal called for the acquisition of approximately 1,205 acres (5 km²) of estuarine property (the Lugo Viñas farm) located on Puerto Rico's south coastal plain. To meet NOAA's match requirements, the Commonwealth proposed to incorporate the Cayos Caribe, a group of seventeen state-owned mangrove islets adjacent to the Lugo Viñas farm, into the Sanctuary. Fifteen of these islets were transferred to the Reserve to comply with the matching requirement. The other two are part of the Aguirre State Forest.

In an extensive estuarine sanctuary site selection process, personnel from OCRM and DNR visited and evaluated several prospective sites in Puerto Rico. These sites, all of which had been included in previous lists of important coastal areas, included the following estuaries: Torrecillas-Piñones (Loíza), Espíritu Santo (Río Grande), El Faro (Fajardo), Humacao Pterocarpus Forest (Humacao), Aguirre/Jobos (Guayama-Salinas), Caño La Boquilla (Mayagüez), and Tortuguero Lagoon (Manatí-Vega Baja). After a careful feasibility analysis, in which both the ecologic and economic realities of the sites were considered, the Jobos site was selected.

In September 1981, the Aguirre site was officially designated as the eleventh National Estuarine Sanctuary, later becoming the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

The Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (JBNERR) covers an area of approximately 11.4 square kilometres (2,800 acres). The northern limit of the Reserve abuts properties owned by the Puerto Rico Land Authority which are leased to the Gonzalez Farm for crop cultivation, principally fruits and corn. On the northeast boundary of the Reserve is the Aguirre Thermoelectric Power Plant (ATPP) and the old Central Aguirre sugar mill which is no longer operating. Bordering the western limits of the Reserve is the Las Mareas community, and residential construction along El Camino del Indio. Settlement has occurred over the course of years, largely as a result of illegal construction and the filling of wetlands. A section of wetlands in this same general area is owned by the Puerto Rico Housing Department, and is classified for future development. The Reserve's southern boundary extends seaward into Jobos Bay. The Aguirre State Forest is situated along the northern and eastern shores of the Bay.

The legal boundaries of the Reserve are described on property maps and deeds. A recent ground survey has been conducted to ascertain precise boundaries to establish markers for the posting of signage. The absence of boundary markers, particularly along the northern and western perimeters of the Reserve, may have contributed to the illegal filling of property belonging to the Reserve.