29–010 

Calendar No. 727 

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 108–368 

CARIBBEAN NATIONAL FOREST ACT OF 2004 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2004.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2334] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 2334) to designate certain National Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of 

the National Wilderness Preservation System, having considered 

the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 2334 is to designate approximately 10,000 

acres of the Caribbean National Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Caribbean National Forest (CNF) has long been recognized 

as a special area that is worthy of protection. The Spanish Crown 

proclaimed much of the current CNF as a forest reserve in 1824. 

One hundred years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt reasserted 

the protection of the CNF. The CNF has the largest number of species of native trees (with 240) in the National Forest System. It 

contains 50 varieties of orchids and over 150 species of ferns. The 

area is also rich in wildlife with over 100 species of vertebrates, including the severely endangered Puerto Rican parrot. 

The El Toro Wilderness would be the only tropical forest Wilderness in the National Forest System and the first Wilderness in 

Puerto Rico. Wilderness designation will ensure that the forest 

home to these species will remain protected. It also will protect the 

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major watersheds in the CNF which provide water to over 800,000 

residents. The designation will enhance protections for the endangered Puerto Rican parrot and permit recovery efforts to continue. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 2334 was introduced by Senator Clinton for herself and Senator Schumer on April 22, 2004. The Subcommittee on Public 

Lands and Forests held a hearing on July 21, 2004. A similar 

House bill, H.R. 1723, was introduced by Puerto Rico’s Resident 

Commissioner, Anı ́bal Acevedo-Vila ́, on April 10, 2003. The Forest 

and Forest Health Subcommittee held a hearing on July 24, 2003. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on September 15, 2004, by a unanimous 

voice vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass 

S. 2334, if amended as described herein. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides the short title. 

Section 2 defines key terms. 

Section 3 designates approximately 10,000 acres of the CNF as 

the El Toro Wilderness and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to 

manage the area in accordance to the Wilderness Act of 1964 (16 

U.S.C. 1131), subject to valid existing rights. Subsection (d) provides that nothing in the bill precludes the installation and maintenance of certain data collection and remote transmission facilities 

where the Secretary determines they are essential to the scientific 

research purposes of the Luquillo Experimental Forest. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office. 

S. 2334—Caribbean National Forest Act of 2004 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 2334 would have no significant 

impact on the federal budget. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues. S. 2334 contains no intergovernmental 

or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act and would have no significant impact on the budgets 

of state, local, or tribal governments. 

S. 2334 would designate as wilderness approximately 10,000 

acres of land within the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest, located in Puerto Rico. Based on information from 

the Forest Service, CBO estimates that designating that area as 

wilderness would not significantly affect the agency’s costs to manage it. We also estimate that the proposed designation would have 

no impact on offsetting receipts from programs to develop federally 

owned natural resources. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. This 

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

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REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 2334. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 2334. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On September 11, 2003, the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth 

Executive agency recommendations on S. 2334. When the reports 

become available, the Chairman will request that they be printed 

in the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate. These reports had not been received when this report was filed. The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at the Subcommittee hearing on S. 2334 follows: 

STATEMENT OF MARK REY, NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM

FOREST SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 

before you today to provide the Department’s views on S. 

2334 to designate certain National Forest System land in 

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of the 

National Wilderness Preservation System. 

S. 2334 would designate approximately 10,000 acres of 

land in the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as the 

El Toro Wilderness and as a component of the National 

Wilderness Preservation System. The Department supports S. 2334. 

The bill would provide that designation of the Wilderness shall not preclude within the area’s boundaries: installation and maintenance of hydrologic, meteorological, 

climatological, or atmospheric data collection and transmission facilities when they are essential to the scientific 

research purposes of the Luquillo Experimental Forest. 

The Caribbean National Forest encompasses over 28,000 

acres of land, making it the largest block of public land on 

the island of Puerto Rico. The Forest, locally known as El 

Yunque, is one of the most popular recreation sites in 

Puerto Rico and the National Forest System. Almost a million tourists, from Puerto Rico, the U.S. mainland, and 

abroad experience this tropical rain forest environment 

each year. 

It is the only tropical rain forest in the National Forest 

System and the most accessible in the world. It is also 

home to the Puerto Rican parrot, one of the 10 most enVerDate Aug 04 2004 09:07 Oct 02, 2004 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR368.XXX SR368
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dangered birds in the world, and nearly 240 species of 

trees and 120 terrestrial animals—four of which are also 

listed as endangered species. 

The 1997 revised Land and Resource Management Plan 

for the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental 

Forest recommended wilderness designation for the 

10,000-acre El Toro area. We believe the designation of the 

El Toro Wilderness would enhance the area’s solitude, scenery and pristine qualities of the area. The El Toro Wilderness would become the only tropical forest in the National Forest Wilderness System and the only wilderness 

area in Puerto Rico. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 2334 as ordered reported. 

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