Planting endangered endemicsWe have an enthusiastic team of Earthwatchers here till the 6th January 2014. Continuing our collaborative project with Fish & Wildlife, we planted critically endangered endemic tree saplings, Styrax portoricensis and Cornutia obovata. To date 116 Styrax and 21 Cornutia have been planted in our spectacular secondary forest here in the Mira Flores mountain, better known as Las Casas de la Selva.
Vanderbilt Alternative Winter Break.
These students worked with Andrés and 3t on the reparation of a broken fence and gate and also completely pruned back an overgrown area that will house the new tree nursery. The weather was rainy for most of the time, so kudos to the team for staying on task and getting the work done. Norman Greenhawk and Magha Garcia Medina provided delicious food for the group, and they also got a night hike led by Norman. Thanks everyone for a week of super work. Now a few days of a Christmas break before we get ready for our next Earthwatch team arriving on the 28th December.
Thank You Vanderbilt Winter Breakers! We appreciate your time and effort in helping us with our goals.
Why volunteer at Las Casas de la Selva? See this 3 minute video by Ben Zenner.
This 3 min video was produced by Ben Zenner, a volunteer of Las Casas de la Selva in April of 2013. Ben is a videographer and graphic designer, and is in the process of developing a non profit design firm to help organizations with their online media presence and funding efforts, and to connect students and individuals with potential volunteer opportunities. For more information about Ben and his project called Volunteer Dream, check out his website: www.benzenner.com/
Thank you Ben!
Showing off our collection of Puerto Rican woods!
Dear Friends,
Welcome to our new website! This year, we are celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Las Casas de la Selva, and hope that near and far, folks will be in touch and revisit to celebrate with us. We are planning a BIG Party, so stay in touch! Get comfy, get a cup of tea or coffee and settle in to catch up with the latest news at Las Casas de la Selva!…
To make it even easier to stay in touch there is a comments section down below.
MOST OF THE PICTURES YOU WILL SEE IN THE NEWSLETTER ARE OF PEOPLE. PEOPLE STANDING AROUND TOGETHER AND MOSTLY SMILING.TO FIND OUT WHAT GOES ON BETWEEN STANDINGS AROUND AND SMILING, YOU SHOULD COME, VOLUNTEER AND EXPERIENCE WHATEVER IT IS!
GROUPS AT LAS CASAS DE LA SELVA
Always a busy time at Las Casas de la Selva, this February and March 2013, we received five Alternative Spring Break groups from all over the USA. Each group stayed between 7-10 days and we were rewarded with the presence of many wonderful university students all looking to provide service as well as have a life-changing experience. Most groups experienced the heavy rains of this region, but none-the-less, hard labor was the order of the day with never a dull moment. Thank you all for helping us to continue to upgrade this project.
OTHER GROUPS
For 23 years Globalworks has been providing exceptional Community Service, Cultural Exchange, Adventure Travel, and Language Immersion programs for teenagers all over the world. One of their stops whilst on a Puerto Rico adventure is to stay at Las Casas de la Selva for a few days, immerse themselves in an alternative lifestyle, carry out intensive hard labor, whilst bonding with each other and getting to know the crew at Las Casas. This year the team worked on making a cement path to the bunkhouses, which will be really appreciated by everyone in the rainy season! Thank you to Meghan Sullivan and Jesse Woodworth for their superb facilitation of this great bunch of teens.
FALL IN LOVE WITH THE FOREST!
Headstart groups from Cacao Alto and Esmeralda Ambar, Patillas joined us for our trips designed for 4-8 year olds. After a fun digital presentation in El Teatro, and a show-and-tell of some frogs and lizards caught and released around the homestead, we take to the forest, and tell stories of the land, stories about trees and forests, tree-planting and cutting, and a detailed look at all kinds of flora and fauna. Then arriving back at the homestead we peek into the woodshop where we show our wood stock and some products. A packed lunch eaten outside, if no rain, finishes up the morning; a morning of fun, and, we hope, the start of a lifelong love of the green!
THE FOREST PRODUCTS ASSESSMENT PROJECT
This project initiated by Tropic Ventures Research & Education Foundation, led by Andrés Rua, and the Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA), has made great progress with several key events in 2012 to highlight the current situation of forest product use and potential in Puerto Rico. 18th April 2013, saw a well-attended conference at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry attended by key players in the DRNA , the USDA, University of PR, and IITF. The group formally became CADA (Consejo Asesor para el Desarrollo Agro-Forestal) at the meeting at Cayey University on 6th May 2013. See more about this project at www.nuestramadera.org
Back row: Andrés Rua (TVREF), Enrique Santiago Irrizary (DRNA), Augusto Carvajal (UPR Cayey), Mark Schofield (former editor of Fine Woodworking Magazine), Gerardo Hernandez (Management Official for Toro Negro State Forest), Franklin Roman (UPR Agriculture Extension Officer and Agronomist), 3t Vakil (TVREF)
Front: Jimena Forero Montanez (UPR Phd student), Christina Cabrera (Special Assistant to the Secretary, DRNA), Rosamaria Quiles (DRNA)
THE SPECTACULAR WOODS OF PUERTO RICO!
See more about our timber for sale.
HUMANURE COMPOST TOILETS
Designed and built by 3t and Andrés in February 2013, just in time to catch all the resources of the groups mentioned above.
“The world is divided into two categories of people: those who defecate in drinking water and those who don’t. We in the western world are in the former class. We defecate in water, usually purified drinking water. After polluting the water with our body’s excrements, we flush the once pure but now polluted water “away,” meaning we probably don’t know where it goes, nor do we care. This ritual of defecating in water may be useful for maintaining a good standing within western culture. If you don’t deposit your feces into a bowl of drinking water on a regular basis, you may be considered a miscreant of sorts, perhaps uncivilized or dirty or poverty stricken. You may be seen as a non-conformist or a radical. Some would argue that a simple system of humanure composting can also be the most advanced system known to humanity. It may be considered the most advanced because it works very well while consuming little, if any, non-renewable resources, producing no pollution, and actually creating a resource vital to life”. SOIL.
Thank you everyone who made the effort to overcome fecaphobic tendencies, to see that this is a really wise and sustainable way to collect and use all our resources, especially in the rainforest where we need soil for food production. 3t has been very successfully composting humanure for nearly nine years. Thanks to Reka Komaromi and Klaus Eiberle and great salutes for inspiration to Mark Nelson, and Joseph Jenkins for the quote above. (See his book)
NEW WOOD-DRYING SHED
NORMAN ON SABBATICAL
Norman Greenhawk was honored by Earthwatch with a Neville Schulman Award. The award is given for the training of emerging environmental leaders. For the award, Norman submitted a proposal: “Herpetological Conservation in the Neo-Tropics: An Interdisciplinary Approach”, and he is currently two and a half months into his seven month sabbatical. He has spent a month at La MICA Biological Field Station in El Cope, Panama. He has worked with Dr. Julie Ray, a specialist of Panamanian snakes and has also interviewed citizens of the rural barrio of Barrigon about their attitudes and beliefs about snakes. His time in Panama will end with a stint at the Panamanian Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARC), which partners with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. PARC is a captive breeding program dedicated to preserving genetically diverse populations of Atelopus frogs, a genus of frogs that are highly susceptible to the Chytrid fungus, a disease currently wiping out populations of amphibians all over the world. While working at PARC, he is continuing his interviews of local and indigenous peoples, focusing on beliefs about reptiles and amphibians in general, as well as perceptions about conservation organizations. We wish the best for Norman on his intrepid explorations! More…
PEOPLE AT LAS CASAS DE LA SELVA, FEBRUARY – JUNE 2013
Above left: Marta Edgar started a Bird Survey with Earthwatch volunteers this June. Alyssa Solis, who first landed at Las Casas on an Earthwatch teen expedition in 2008, has been back several times since and was an invaluable help on the Bird study, as well as helping 3t with Las Casas logistics and team management of the two Earthwatch groups in June 2013. Thank you Ladies!
PRESS AND MEDIA
EARTHWATCH TEAM 1 JUNE 8-16TH 2013
This wonderful all-ladies team above started our Earthwatch season in June 2013, and we really appreciated their enthusiasm especially in such a rainy time, and with early pre-sunrise starts. We are happy to announce the launch of a bird survey at Las Casas de la Selva with ornithologist, Marta Edgar. The ladies also partook in the planting and monitoring of critically endangered endemic trees with 3t. Below, our most exceptional teen team of Earthwatch volunteers, who completed several days out in the forest in very wet conditions and not a complaint! We really appreciated the work carried out on bird and tree studies and also the fun back at the homestead. Special thanks to Jackie Pomposelli and Amy Reggio, Earthwatch facilitators who did a superb job of holding it all together!
(Newsletter editor: 3t)
Magaly Figueroa has been a key ally of ours for the last decade in the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources and the USDA. We are very honored for her to mention us in an interview on ‘Faces of The Forest Service’, on the US Forest website. This is the first time Tropic Ventures and our portal to the wood world Nuestra Madera has had a public mention. Thanks Magaly!
L-R: Tania Hernandez Caraballo, 3t, Jim Ackerman, Escarlin Reyes Genao, Carmen-Iris Rodriguez, and Joel Salcedo Mejias (Pic by Andrés R♪a)
Prof. Jim Ackerman brought his students to Las Casas de la Selva to make observations on exotic orchids and pines. Our friend Carmen Iris, (second from right), studied with Jim 26 years ago. Always a pleasure to spend time with Jim and get the downloads on his current studies and forest insights.
Oh, and the puppy is the new addition to Carmen Iris and Alberto Rodriguez’ household. An adorable pedigree German Shepherd, 2 months old, called Ninja,
L-R: Mark Schofield (Ex-Editor of Fine Woodworking Magazine); Yolanda Flores (Department of Agriculture); Augusto Carvajal (Biologist); Magaly Figueroa (USDA Forest Service, IITF); Andrés Rúa (Tropic Ventures Research & Education Foundation); 3t Vakil (Tropic Ventures Sustainable Forestry Project); Connie Carpenter (US State & private Forestry, IITF); Christina Cabrera (Departmento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, Ayudante Especial, Oficina del Secretario); Aileen Amador (Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas).
CADA meeting at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, 30th August 2013.
Consejo Asesor para el Desarrollo Agroforestal de Puerto Rico
“Working towards the development of Sustainable Forestry in Puerto Rico, and the research and creation of a forest products industry and relevant markets.”
See www.nuestramadera.org for more info on this new council and its mission, founded in May 2013 by Andrés Rúa and 3t Vakil.
All images by 3t Vakil
When great friends come to visit! 3t’s friend Sally J. Richardson, and her 17 year old nephew, Sean Hitchcock, visited for three weeks, and in their time at Las Casas, helped with all aspects of homestead life and assisted magnificently with the organization and work with Globalworks teenagers and the Upward Bound Appalachian team. Sean, you were a star and we really appreciated your hard work in the field with the teams, and your quiet getting on with everything, and we especially loved your smile! Sally, tremendous gratitude for your upbeat humor in all situations and your generosity. We loved having you both here!
We did let them off the ranch a few times, and we did visit El Morro Fort in Old San Juan on a beautiful day. Sally and Sean went snorkeling on a Catamaran trip around Icacos and Lobos islands of the NE coast. They also managed to squeeze in a kayak trip in the Bioluminescent bay. A bio bay is a body of water that contains millions of micro-organisms, called “dinoflagellates”, that glow in the dark for a second when agitated. It is a rare, natural wonder that Sally and Sean were lucky enough to experience.
Appalachian State University organize Upward Bound for incoming students…this great bunch spent 5 days with us and helped on trail blazing, ditch digging, and erosion control and really got far on the forest road. You guys did an awesome job, we really appreciate your work!
A wonderful bunch of Globalworks teenagers stayed for 4 days and helped with road repairs and maintenance. Muchas gracias!
April 2004 was one of the driest seasons at Las Casas de la Selva which proved to be very fortunate for an exciting and busy session with the construction of a Wastewater Garden at the homestead. The team that gathered to complete this project in 15 days were: Dr. Mark Nelson, Chairman of the Institute of Ecotechnics, Mark ‘Laser’ Van Thillo, Abigail Alling, Gessie Houghton, Robert Townsend, Gregg Dugan, Chris ‘Dolphin’ Cook, Gilberto ‘Tingo’, Carmelo Torre, Javier Rojas, Sally Silverstone, 3t Vakil.
Wastewater Gardens® were developed by Dr. Mark Nelson, Chairman of the Institute of Ecotechnics and head of Wastewater Gardens International. The system was originally developed as part of the pioneering Biosphere 2 closed ecological system in Arizona. The system uses the technology of subsurface flow constructed wetlands so that there is never any exposed wastewater – thus preventing odor and accidental human contact.
Wastewater Gardens are an ecological, low cost, low maintenance solution to the problem of human waste. Improperly treated sewage causes ecological damage, pollutes drinking water supplies, and is literally a waste of potentially valuable freshwater enriched with nutrients in a world increasingly short of water resources. Using no mechanical or moving parts and no chemicals, all wastewater is recycled via a gravity system into elegant, biologically diverse gardens that produce lovely flowers as well as fruit and vegetables that can be eaten by humans, fodder crops for animal consumption or fuel-wood and fiber. The systems are carefully sealed so no wastewater contaminates the soil, ground water, rivers, lakes, or coastal waters.
Big Thanks to: Zabel Corporation, and Brian Borders for parts and filters for the Wastewater Garden. Firestone Corporation, and Marco Seiber for the donation of the liner for the Wastewater Garden and with all the help in getting it to us on time.
This Waste Water garden was built with a Grant from the Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales Puerto Rico. Gracious thanks to all those who made it possible.
We always appreciate the help that our volunteer groups provide, and help us get this project off the ground, sometimes literally!
Thank you to students of: Appalachian State University, Pepperdine University, Vanderbilt University, Northeastern University, and Northwestern University.
Frogging at Las Casas de la Selva! Patricia Caligari (center) is pursuing a Masters Degree at University of Puerto Rico. L-R: Rosangela, Michel, Naomi and Monica are her assistants in the field and they are taking credits as part of their bachelor degrees.
Geographic assessment of the response of three different endemic Puerto Rican anurans to the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd)
ABSTRACT
Chytridiomycosis is a lethal infectious disease caused by the pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which is responsible for the extinction of many amphibians worldwide. In Puerto Rico three species of Eleutherodactylus disappeared potentially due to this pathogen, and many others are at risk. A synergistic effect between Bd and climate was shown for two species at El Yunque, but this relationship has not been tested in other species or forests. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the status of Bd in three endemic species, Eleutherodactylus wightmanae, Eleutherodactylus coqui, and Leptodactylus albilabris, which differ in conservation status, ecology and life history, in three highland forests across the island. Results from this study will enhance our understanding of the mechanisms of Bd under enzootic conditions.
Her advisor is Dr. Patricia Burrowes, who also co-authored our biodiversity and frog study paper.
Since February 2013, our new composting toilets have proved a huge success with everyone who has used them. Several Alternative Spring Break University groups in March 2013 made valuable deposits in our new humanure composting toilets, and we have one compost full and another already started. Up for a visit? Come have the splash-back free experience and leave a valuable resource behind. If you wrote a poem, be sure to leave it here too!
John Druitt and Sally Silverstone plant the first pine tree in 1984. Here is Sally in 2007 with the same tree.
SUMMARY
1984: In general the plantation design was to plant at approximately 3m (10 ft) spacing within the lines and 10m (32.5 ft) from line to line through the forest. In the process of line planting, larger trees and valuable native timber species were left in place and the lines continued with a gap left around them. This technique closely mimics a medium-sized tree fall gap, in which the forest floor litter and soils are undisturbed, but the above ground nearby competition is removed, such as vines and overhanging branches.
2000-2008 19 study plots, 1 acre (0.4 hectare) in size 16 plots of mahogany 3 plots of mahoe. 997 trees studied. Complete sets of reading taken twice. Range 24 to 42 mths between readings.
SURVIVAL RATE Mahogany plantings – 28% approx (dependent on plot aspect- see results, sw best) Initial planting approx. 370 trees per hectare (148 trees per acre) Mahoe plantings – 66%. Initial planting approx. 415 trees per hectare (166 trees per acre) DBH Mahogany trees are increasing in dbh by an average of 0.6 cm per year Mahoe are increasing by an average of 0.91 cm per year. HEIGHT since planting: Mahogany has grown in height at a rate of approximately half a meter per year. Mahoe at a rate of approximately one meter per year.
INDICATIONS The growth data indicate the Mahoe plantation has been far more successful than the mahogany in terms of wood production. At current rates of increase it would take the mahogany at Las Casas another 27 years to get 30 cm dbh trunks for logging, giving a total time from planting to harvest of 43 years. It is currently possible to harvest marketable wood from the mahoe at 15 years. Current conservative estimates for standing marketable wood for mahoe are approximately 58 cubic meters per hectare (25,000 board feet per hectare or 10,000 bd ft per acre). This makes the Mahoe a good candidate for sustainable forestry management where the aim is to get the trees on a cycle of harvesting and replanting to provide a continuous income. A final evaluation of this line planting method as a model for sustainable forestry will be possible when trees are being annually harvested selectively, replanting begins, and the wood and products successfully sold for profit. Future challenges with the Mahoe plantations will involve working out the best thinning and replanting strategies, (and dealing with issues of extraction on slopes, drying techniques, and forest road and bridge repairs after nearly thirty years and two hurricanes). The challenge is on.
Ongoing research on the Mahoe plantation: 2010 – 2012
Jimena Forero is pursuing a PhD Degree at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus. As part of her dissertation she is describing the stand density and the canopy structure of our mahoe enrichment plantation in order to make recommendations for its management. Using our three 1-acre permanent mahoe plots, she has, with the help of undergraduates and Earth Watch volunteers conducted a forest inventory over two years (2010-2012) of these plots at Las Casas de la Selva. Her academic supervisor is Dr. Jess K. Zimmerman, Environmental Sciences professor at University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. Another part of her dissertation involves interviewing artisans all over the island, who use forest products.
NELSON MARK, SILVERSTONE SALLY, REISS KELLY, BURROWES PATRICIA, JOGLAR RAFAEL, ROBERTSON MOLLY, VAKIL THRITY, 2010. The impact of Hardwood Line-Planting on Tree and Amphibian Diversity in a Secondary Subtropical Wet Forest of Southeast Puerto Rico. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 29(5): 503-516.
(Click link above to download 188KB PDF)
SUMMARY
2000-2004 Amphibians: Amphibians are especially useful as biological monitors of environmental health (Wake, 1991). Because in Puerto Rico frogs are the most important vertebrate nocturnal carnivores, a change in their population dynamics could have an important effect on the forest food web (Joglar, 1998). Thus, monitoring amphibians at Las Casas de la Selva was a suitable way to assess the impact of a line-planting forestry approach to tropical forest ecosystems. Main difference between the studied forested areas was that one had been disturbed to plant trees of potential economic value (line-planting), while the other area had been left undisturbed. There was no difference in species composition between the two areas studied. Eleutherodactylus coqui and E. wightmanae are the two most common species in both forests, with occasional sightings of E. portoricensis.
We were happy to note:
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of mean relative abundance of the two most common species revealed no significant difference between forests.
This is encouraging data.
These results suggest that the degree of disturbance caused by planting economically valuable trees had no effect on amphibian diversity or density in Patillas, Puerto Rico. At a time when the impact of anthropogenic activities on amphibian populations are being evaluated (Stuart et al., 2005), it is important to show that the type of forestry enrichment practiced at “Las Casas de La Selva”, did not have a negative impact on frog abundance. Our work in Las Casas de la Selva is the first record of population densities of E. coqui in the central cordillera of Puerto Rico, and the first record of population densities for E. wightmanae.
At a time when amphibian populations are declining all over the globe, and populations of these two species are declining at El Yunque, these data from Patillas represent a very valuable baseline that will allow us to monitor population fluctuations and potential declines associated to climate change or disease. Chytrid fungus Since June 2004, various species of frogs at Las Casas de la Selva have been sampled for the incidence of a pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). This fungus is specific to amphibians and has been associated to their decline in various parts of the world (Longcore, 1999), including Puerto Rico (Burrowes et al. 2004). Tissue is taken from toe clippings and/or ventral skin scrapes, and analyzed for the chytrid DNA via specific PCR diagnostic methods. Results show the presence of chytrids in Patillas as early as 2005. At present, the level of incidence of Bd infection in Eleutherodactylus coqui is of 50 % and in E. wightmanae is 44 %. Biodiversity of Trees: Overall the line-planting program has resulted in a small increase in overall diversity of tree species in those areas. See results in the full paper, link above.
Ongoing Coqui frog research at Las Casas de la Selva: 2010 – 2012 Patricia Caligari (center) is pursuing a Masters Degree at University of Puerto Rico, and as part of her thesis is sampling for chytrid in three species of endemic frogs in different parts of Puerto Rico, including Las Casas de la Selva. Her crew of undergraduate students help in the field and lab with DNA extraction. Her advisor is Dr. Patricia Burrowes, co-author of our paper above. More info
All studies are a building block in the more complex strategy of developing techniques to both satisfying human needs and conserving the resource base.” Ariel Lugo
This program has been formulated to protect endangered flora and fauna by planting endangered endemic tree species, and working on habitat enhancement in subtropical wet forest. The location and the quality of the habitat of the 930-acre forest property of Las Casas de la Selva is ideal for the establishment of projects toward the recovery of various endangered endemic tree species. The property’s north-eastern border adjoins the Carite State Forest which contains another 6,660 acres of subtropical wet mountain forest land.
Tropic Ventures Research & Education Foundation are collaborating with US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to develop habitat enhancement and restoration projects that benefit endangered endemic species of Puerto Rico. The animals include the Puerto Rican boa (Epicrates inornatus), broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus brunnescens), Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus venator), the Guajon coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus cooki), and Puerto Rican plain pigeon (Columba inornata wetmorei).
Most of these species have been identified on this land, which makes it eminently suitable for their long-term habitat protection & enhancement. The area also provides habitat for several listed trees that have been identified within this geographical area (Eugenia haematocarpa and Callicarpa ampla). The area also harbors habitat for two Candidate Species; the elfin-woods warbler (Dendroica angelae) and the vine/shrub Gonocalyx concolor. The proposed project will also focus on the establishment of two experimental populations of the federally listed tree Styrax portoricensis. Furthermore, the area to be enhanced is part of the Rio Grande de Patillas upper watershed, which serves a large regional population with potable water, and will benefit the water quality of this river by reducing soil erosion.
As part of this project, Tropic Ventures Research and Education Foundation agree to maintain and protect the specific areas to be enhanced or under restoration practices for a period of at least 10 years. The areas for habitat enhancement will not interfere with other areas of the property which have been planted with forest enrichment trees, and is already in a program of sustainable management including selective harvesting of timber trees. Las Casas de la Selva is certified as Stewardship Forest and under the auspices of the Puerto Rican Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) has an approved Stewardship Management Plan. Tropic Ventures Research & Education Foundation has a contract with Tropic Ventures (the managing entity) to conduct scientific studies and educational research work on the entirety of the land for the next 50 years.
Earthwatch volunteer collaboration
Initially Earthwatch volunteers will be engaged in the process of site selection, site mapping, tagging and planting, measuring the saplings, and data collection. A biologist from FWS may accompany us on some these expeditions to assist in the process. See below for long-term monitoring process. All tree work is dependent on weather and care will be taken on steep slopes as always. There will always be nursery work, which may include pruning, care and maintenance of young seedlings, and of endangered tree species.
PROPOSAL
1. ENDANGERED SPECIES: Establishment of new populations of Styrax portoricensis. Establish at least two populations composed of about 50 individuals each in approximately 2 acres. Expected survival is 75% after the 2nd year of planting. Styrax portoricensis, locally known as palo de jazmin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. It is one of the rarest endemic trees of Puerto Rico and is found only in the northeastern Luquillo Mountains (Sierra de Luquillo) and the north-central Cayey mountains (Sierra de Cayey).
2. HABITAT ENHANCEMENT: Establishment of a shade nursery for caring and sheltering of saplings of threatened endemic species until planting.
3. LONG TERM MONITORING: The aim of this effort is to monitor the initial survival, growth rate, and success of the reintroduced material to ensure the best contribution to the recovery of the species.
4. REPORTS: Annually
5. OUTREACH: We will develop an outreach project to promote the recovery efforts and to educate the local community and visitors. This program will include fliers, brochures, and boards and signs along trails etc.
This project has enabled Andrés Rúa to visit with sawmill owners over the island, interview dozens of artisans who work with forest products, as well as large & small scale wood & product dealers. The project aims to investigate use of forest products in Puerto Rico; where wood is coming from, what types of wood, who are the buyers, and what other forest products are in demand and use?
A symposium in April 2012 brought together over eighty people, ranging from foresters, arborists, woodworkers, DRNA staff, artisans, architects, professors, and UPR students, the symposium was hugely informative. The event was dedicated toCarlos Domínguez Cristóbal, author of “Panorama historico forestal de Puerto Rico”, and to recently retired forester Dr. Peter L. Weaver from IITF.
The Forest Products Assessment project continued with an in-the-field event in August 2012 led by Andrés Rúa. A pine tree was felled by arborist Andre Sanfiorenzo, hauled out by tractor, and milled. The event was to bring together and give those who shown an interest at the last Symposium the opportunity to actually partake in a timber project. Andrés showed the mill at work and several people had the chance to operate it. After a gourmet lunch, the afternoon continued in el teatro where lively and heated discussions dealt with the next steps to creating an intelligent future for timber production and forest products in Puerto Rico.
March 2013 saw the beginning of the second phase of the Forest Products Assessment, with a meeting at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, (Images here) and then in in May 2013 at the University of Cayey, (Images here). More details on www.nuestramadera.org
CADA, Council for the Development of Agro-forestry, founded by Andrés Rúa and 3t Vakil, May 2013, was born from forestry discussions, which began with Frank H. Wadsworth in private meetings in 2008. The open membership includes individuals from universities and the private sector, members of Government agencies, and many other institutions, all brought together with an over-arching interest in the development of policies pertaining to the sustainable and intelligent use of all Puerto Rico’s valuable & unique natural resources.
