The Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Refugio de Vida Silvestre de Laguna Cartagena'') is a 1043-acre National Wildlife Refuge in Lajas,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. It is part of the

Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Complex is an administrative unit of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service which oversees National Wildlife Refuges in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Navassa Island of the U.S. Minor Outlyin ...

. The present

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

is a remnant of what was once a large open expanse of water and one of the most important freshwater habitats for migrating

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

and aquatic birds in

. Due to agricultural practices, about 90 percent of the lagoon is covered with

cattail ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in ...

. Intensive

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

grazing and

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

production have greatly altered the original landscape. In addition to the lagoon, there are uplands that include pastureland, abandoned sugar cane fields, and in the foothills of the

Sierra Bermeja Sierra Bermeja is a mountain range in southwestern Puerto Rico. It forms the southern boundary of the Lajas Valley and it is bordered by La Parguera in the Caribbean Sea coast. It extends from the municipality of Cabo Rojo in the west to Lajas i ...

. These hills, geologically the oldest in the Caribbean, protect native forest with many endemic plant species. The area is a stopover for neotropical migrants and several species of

waterbird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

s. The

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

yellow-shouldered blackbird The yellow-shouldered blackbird (''Agelaius xanthomus''), known in Puerto Rican Spanish as ''mariquita de Puerto Rico'' or ''capitán'', is a species of blackbird endemic to Puerto Rico. It has black plumage with a prominent yellow patch on the ...

and peregrine falcon have been reported on the refuge.

References

External links

Refuge website
{{Authority control Lajas, Puerto Rico National Wildlife Refuges in Puerto Rico