2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWELVE - Conservation (§§ 1-16 — 8162) › Subtitle 2 - Forests (§§ 121-128 — 217b) › Chapter 15 - Forest Act of Puerto Rico (§§ 191 — 204) › § 199 - Unlawful acts outside of Commonwealth Forests

(a) Except as stipulated herein, any person who, without proper authorization or title, wilfully cuts, strips the bark from or otherwise damages or takes for himself any tree or shrub belonging to another person and which is on private property or on the property of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or its public instrumentalities or municipalities shall incur a violation of this chapter.
(b) It is hereby prohibited to fell, prune, strip the bark or otherwise affect the following trees in public or private properties:
(1) Those whose characteristics are indispensable or necessary for forest development, including the protection of watersheds, erosion control and ecological balance of the environment;
(2) rare endangered species;
(3) species protected for any reason whatsoever which is duly justified through regulations;
(4) those located in public parks and town squares;
(5) those that are indispensable for any essential public utility purpose. It is further provided that those companies engaged in the development of housing and commercial projects, or those of any other nature, shall be required to comply with the provisions established in the Planting, Felling, and Forestry Regulation for Puerto Rico adopted jointly by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the Planning Board, and approved by the Governor of Puerto Rico on March 1, 1996. This Regulation shall not apply to agricultural activities.
Every person who violates the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, will be guilty of infringing this chapter.
It is further Provided, That those companies engaged in the development of housing and commercial projects or those of any other nature shall be bound to comply with the provisions established in the Planting, Felling and Forestry Regulations for Puerto Rico, adopted jointly by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the Planning Board, and approved by the Governor of Puerto Rico on March 1, 1996.
The Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources shall establish through regulations, the principles, standards and criteria which shall govern the provisions established in this subsection.
The Secretary shall likewise provide, through regulation, those cases in which a waiver may be issued with respect to these regulatory provisions. To such effect, the petitioner shall present a request to the Secretary, or to the person designated by him/her, who shall issue a permit authorizing the felling, pruning, stripping of bark, or otherwise affecting the tree or trees in question, if it is deemed justified. The necessary procedures for emergency cases shall also be provided.
The regulation provided herein shall be approved pursuant to §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3.
(c) Agricultural activities, meaning those economic activities related to agriculture that are focused on the production of food, fiber, or fuel, among others, by using natural resources consistently with the environment, shall be exempted from the prohibition set forth in this section and dispensation or authorization of the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources or the person he/she designates shall not be required.
(1) Farmers shall be allowed to cut, trim, fell, or otherwise cause damage to native or endemic tree species that have eight inches or less either in trunk diameter at breast height, or DBH, or at four (4) feet high, provided that:
(A) An agronomist, as defined in §§ 621 et seq. of Title 20, certifies the agricultural practices as being part of an integral plan for agricultural development and resource conservation.
(B) The agricultural activity is endorsed by the Department of Agriculture of Puerto Rico.
(2) For agricultural developments in which it is necessary to cut, trim, strip the bark of, or cause damage to trees that have more than eight (8) inches either in trunk diameter at breast height, or DBH, or at four (4) feet high, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, with the collaboration of the Department of Agriculture, shall determine the fair parameters of evaluation to determine the adequate mitigation of not more than one tree for each one eliminated (1:1), to be adopted in regulations promulgated by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. Such regulations shall also establish the administrative penalties to be imposed for violations of this chapter.
(3) For agricultural developments in which it is necessary to cut, trim, strip the bark of, or cause damage to species of trees recognized as invasive or as plagues, no permit shall be necessary irrespective of the trunk’s diameter at breast height, or DBH, at a height of four (4) feet. Agricultural farming will be considered as mitigation against the invasive flora.
(4) An exemption from the mitigation obligation shall be made when it is necessary to cut, trim, strip the bark of, or damage agricultural production trees strictly as part of farming methods. Furthermore, mitigation shall be considered as carried out when trees that have been cut are substituted by agricultural production trees.
(5) Endangered trees shall not be damaged unless the provisions of §§ 107 et seq. of this title, better known as the “New Wildlife Act of Puerto Rico”, are taken into account and complied with.
History —July 1, 1975, No. 133, p. 393, § 9; Aug. 10, 1988, No. 161, p. 692, § 4; July 23, 1992, No. 35, § 1; Aug. 11, 1996, No. 111, § 1; Dec. 10, 2010, No. 195, § 1, eff. 90 days after Dec. 10, 2010.