I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2488

To provide for the protection of the tropical forests of the Karst Region 

of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the aquifers and watersheds 

of this region that constitute a principal water source for much of 

Puerto Rico, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 17, 2003

Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́ (for himself, Mr. DUNCAN, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. 

UDALL of Colorado, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. 

BORDALLO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To provide for the protection of the tropical forests of the 

Karst Region of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and 

the aquifers and watersheds of this region that constitute 

a principal water source for much of Puerto Rico, and 

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Puerto Rico Karst 

5 Conservation Act of 2003’’. 
2

•HR 2488 IH 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The Karst Region of the Commonwealth of 

4 Puerto Rico contains some of the largest areas of 

5 tropical forests in Puerto Rico with a higher density 

6 of tree species than any other area on the island. 

7 (2) The Karst Region has unique geological for8 mations that are critical to the maintenance of 

9 aquifers and watersheds that constitute a principal 

10 water supply for much of Puerto Rico. 

11 (3) The Karst Region is threatened by develop12 ment that, if unchecked, could permanently damage 

13 aquifers supplying fresh water and cause irreparable 

14 damage to natural and environmental assets that are 

15 unique to the United States and Puerto Rico. 

16 (4) Puerto Rico is one of the most densely pop17 ulated areas of the United States, which makes the 

18 protection of the Karst Region an imperative for the 

19 maintenance of the public health and welfare of the 

20 citizens of Puerto Rico. 

21 (5) The Karst Region possesses extraordinary 

22 ecological diversity, including the habitats of several 

23 endangered and threatened species and tropical mi24 grants, and is, therefore, an area of critical value to 

25 research in tropical forest management. 
3

•HR 2488 IH 

1 (6) Coordinated efforts at land protection by 

2 the Federal Government and the Commonwealth of 

3 Puerto Rico will be necessary to conserve the envi4 ronmentally critical Karst Region. 

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

6 (1) to authorize and support conservation ef7 forts to acquire, manage, and protect the tropical 

8 forest areas of the Karst Region of the Common9 wealth of Puerto Rico, with particular emphasis on 

10 protecting water quality and the aquifers which are 

11 vital to the health and well being of the citizens of 

12 Puerto Rico; and 

13 (2) to promote cooperation among the Common14 wealth of Puerto Rico, Federal Agencies, corpora15 tions, organizations, and individuals in such con16 servation efforts. 

17 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

18 (1) COMMONWEALTH.—The term ‘‘Common19 wealth’’ means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

20 (2) KARST REGION.—The term ‘‘Karst Region’’ 

21 means those areas in the Commonwealth of Puerto 

22 Rico generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Karst 

23 Region Conservation Area’’ and dated March, 2001. 

24 The map shall be on file and available for public in25 spection in the Office of the Secretary, Puerto Rico 
4

•HR 2488 IH 

1 Department of Natural and Environmental Re2 sources, and the Office of the Chief of the Forest 

3 Service. 

4 (3) LAND.—The term ‘‘land’’ includes lands, 

5 waters, and interests in lands and waters. 

6 (4) FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM.—The term 

7 ‘‘Forest Legacy Program’’ means the program es8 tablished pursuant to section 7 of the Cooperative 

9 Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103c). 

10 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

12 SEC. 3. CONSERVATION OF KARST REGION, COMMON13 WEALTH OF PUERTO RICO. 

14 (a) FEDERAL COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE.—The 

15 Secretary may—

16 (1) make grants to, and enter into contracts 

17 and cooperative agreements with, the Common18 wealth, other Federal agencies, organizations, cor19 porations, and individuals for the purposes of fur20 thering the acquisition, management, and protection 

21 of land in and adjacent to the Karst Region and im22 plementing related natural resources conservation 

23 strategies; and 

24 (2) utilize all authorities available to the Sec25 retary, including the Forest and Rangeland Renew-
5

•HR 2488 IH 

1 able Resources Research Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

2 1641 et. seq.), section 1472 of the National Agricul3 tural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act 

4 of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3318), and section 12 of the Ste5 venson–Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 

6 (15 U.S.C. 3710a), for such purposes. 

7 (b) FUNDING SOURCES.—The activities authorized 

8 by this section may be carried out using amounts in the 

9 Puerto Rico Karst Conservation Fund, the fund estab10 lished by section 4(b) of the Forest and Rangeland Renew11 able Resources Research Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 1643(b)), 

12 funds appropriated from the Land and Water Conserva13 tion Fund, funds appropriated for the Forest Legacy Pro14 gram, and any other funds made available for this section. 

15 (c) MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED LANDS.—

16 (1) MANAGEMENT PURPOSE.—Land acquired 

17 under the authority of this section or using funds 

18 made available under this section shall be managed 

19 in a manner to protect and conserve the water qual20 ity and aquifers and the geological, ecological, fish 

21 and wildlife, and other natural values of the Karst 

22 Region. Any Federal land within the Karst Region 

23 acquired pursuant to this section or the Forest Leg24 acy Program shall be managed by the Secretary pur25 suant to the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re-
6

•HR 2488 IH 

1 sources Research Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 1641 et. 

2 seq.). 

3 (2) UNITED STATES INTEREST.—In deeds, 

4 grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements imple5 menting this section and the Forest Legacy Program 

6 in Puerto Rico, the Secretary may require that title 

7 to land acquired by the Commonwealth or other co8 operating entity under the authority of this section 

9 or using funds made available under this section will 

10 vest, at the discretion of the Secretary, in the United 

11 States if the land is sold or conveyed whole or part, 

12 or is not managed in conformity with paragraph (1). 

13 (d) WILLING SELLERS.—Any land acquisition by the 

14 Secretary within the Karst Region under the authority of 

15 this section and using funds made available under this sec16 tion shall be on a willing seller basis. 

17 (e) RELATION TO OTHER LAND AUTHORITIES.—

18 Nothing in this Act shall diminish any other authority that 

19 the Secretary may have to acquire, manage, and protect 

20 lands and natural resources in the Commonwealth. 

21 (f) RELATION TO COMMONWEALTH WATER LAWS.—

22 Nothing in this section shall constitute an express or im23 plied claim or denial on the part of the Federal Govern24 ment as to exemption from Commonwealth water laws. 
7

•HR 2488 IH 

1 SEC. 4. PUERTO RICO KARST CONSERVATION FUND. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

3 on the books of the Treasury an interest bearing account 

4 to be known as the ‘‘Puerto Rico Karst Conservation 

5 Fund’’. 

6 (b) CREDITS TO FUNDS.—There shall be credited to 

7 the Fund the following: 

8 (1) Amounts appropriated to the Fund. 

9 (2) All moneys donated to the Fund. 

10 (3) All moneys generated from the Caribbean 

11 National Forest which would otherwise be deposited 

12 as miscellaneous receipts in the Treasury of the 

13 United States, but not including those moneys au14 thorized by law for payments to the Commonwealth 

15 of Puerto Rico or authorized by law for retention by 

16 the Forest Service for any purpose. 

17 (4) All moneys received by the Administrator of 

18 General Services from the disposal of surplus real 

19 property in Puerto Rico pursuant to title 40, United 

20 States Code, or any other provision of law. 

21 (5) Interest derived from amounts in the Fund 

22 and any other moneys donated for deposit in the 

23 Fund. 

24 (c) USE OF FUND.—Amounts in the Fund shall be 

25 available to the Secretary until expended, without further 

26 appropriation, to carry out section 3. 
8

•HR 2488 IH 

1 (d) DONATIONS.—

2 (1) ACCEPTANCE.—The Secretary may accept 

3 donations, including land and money, made by pub4 lic and private agencies, corporations, organizations, 

5 and individuals in furtherance of the purposes of 

6 this Act. The Secretary may accept such donations 

7 even though the donor is regulated by, conducts 

8 business with, or seeks to conduct business with, the 

9 Department of Agriculture or any other department 

10 or agency of the United States. 

11 (2) TREATMENT OF DONATIONS.—Public Law 

12 95–442 (7 U.S.C. 2269) shall apply to donations ac13 cepted by the Secretary under this subsection. 

14 SEC. 5. RELATION TO FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM. 

15 (a) INCLUSION OF KARST REGION.—All lands in the 

16 Karst Region shall be eligible for inclusion in the Forest 

17 Legacy Program. 

18 (b) COST SHARING.—The Secretary may credit dona19 tions made under section 4(d) to satisfy any cost sharing 

20 requirements of the Forest Legacy Program. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Puerto 

23 Rico Karst Conservation Fund such sums as may be nec24 essary to carry out this Act.

Æ