H. R. 539

One Hundred Ninth Congress

of the

United States of America 

AT THE FIRST SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 

the fourth day of January, two thousand and five 

An Act 

To designate certain National Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto 

Rico as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Caribbean National Forest Act 

of 2005’’. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map dated April 

13, 2004, and entitled ‘‘El Toro Proposed Wilderness Area’’. 

(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

of Agriculture. 

SEC. 3. WILDERNESS DESIGNATION, CARIBBEAN NATIONAL FOREST, 

PUERTO RICO. 

(a) EL TORO WILDERNESS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—In furtherance of the purposes of the 

Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the approximately 

10,000 acres of land in the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo 

Experimental Forest in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as 

generally depicted on the map are designated as wilderness 

and as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation 

System. 

(2) DESIGNATION.—The land designated in paragraph (1) 

shall be known as the El Toro Wilderness. 

(3) WILDERNESS BOUNDARIES.—The El Toro Wilderness 

shall consist of the land generally depicted on the map. 

(b) MAP AND BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date 

of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall—

(A) prepare a boundary description of the El Toro 

Wilderness; and 

(B) submit the map and the boundary description to 

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House of 

Representatives. 

(2) PUBLIC INSPECTION AND TREATMENT.—The map and 

the boundary description prepared under paragraph (1)(A)—

(A) shall be on file and available for public inspection 

in the office of the Chief of the Forest Service; and 
H. R. 539—2

(B) shall have the same force and effect as if included 

in this Act. 

(3) ERRORS.—The Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in the map and the boundary description prepared under paragraph (1)(A). 

(c) ADMINISTRATION.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary shall administer the El Toro Wilderness in accordance 

with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this 

Act. 

(2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF WILDERNESS ACT.—With respect 

to the El Toro Wilderness, any reference in the Wilderness 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) to the effective date of that Act 

shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of the enactment 

of this Act. 

(d) SPECIAL MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS.—Consistent with 

the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), nothing in this Act 

precludes the installation and maintenance of hydrologic, meteorological, climatological, or atmospheric data collection and remote 

transmission facilities, or any combination of those facilities, in 

any case in which the Secretary determines that the facilities 

are essential to the scientific research purposes of the Luquillo 

Experimental Forest.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.