Nuevo Milenio State Forest (

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, Cana ...

: ''Bosque Estatal del Nuevo Milenio'' or ''Bosque Urbano del Nuevo Milenio'') is one of the 20 forests that make up the public forest system of

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 ...

. The forest is located east of the University of Puerto Rico Botanical Garden in the Sabana Llana Sur district of San Juan, making it one of the two state forests located within the capital's municipal boundaries (the other being San Patricio State Forest).

History

The area where the forest now stands had originally been deforested and was the site of several quarries. The forest reserve was first proclaimed in 1998 with the intention of preserving one of the last green areas in San Juan as a

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

. The city is very densely populated and has lost most of its forests due to

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

. This was done thanks to the effort of local residents, academics and environmentalists. In 2003 the forest was added to the ''San Juan Ecological Corridor'' management zone, also managed by the municipality of San Juan which designates the area as ecologically important as it forms part of the hydrological basin of the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

San Juan Bay San Juan Bay ( es, Bahía de San Juan) is the bay and main inlet adjacent to Old San Juan in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is about in length, the largest body of water in an estuary of about of channels, inlets and eight interconnected lagoons ...

. Between the years 1998 and 2005 the forest was used for research purposes for studying the impact of

Hurricane Georges Hurricane Georges () was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde Category 4 hurricane which caused severe destruction as it traversed the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in September 1998, making eight landfalls along its path. Georges was the sevent ...

in the destruction and regrowth of the forest.

Ecology

Flora

The forest is very characteristic of the

ecosystem found throughout Puerto Rico. Some native tree species found in the forest are the yarumo ('' Cecropia schreberiana''), the West Indian locust tree (''

Hymenaea courbaril ''Hymenaea courbaril'', the courbaril or West Indian locust, is a tree common in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. It is a hardwood that is used for furniture, flooring, and decoration. Its hard fruit pods have edible dry pulp ...

''), the Puerto Rican royal palm tree (''

Roystonea borinquena ''Roystonea borinquena'', commonly called the Puerto Rico royal palm, (Spanish: ''palma real puertorriqueña'') is a species of palm which is native to Hispaniola (in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. ...

''), and the pink trumpet tree (''

Tabebuia heterophylla ''Tabebuia heterophylla'' is a species of tree native to the Caribbean, and is also cultivated. It is also known as Roble blanco, pink manjack, pink trumpet tree, white cedar, and whitewood. Description ''Tabebuia heterophylla'' grows up to 20 ...

'') or Puerto Rican oak as it is colloquially known. Common introduced trees found in the forest are the flea tree (''

Albizia lebbeck ''Albizia lebbeck'' is a species of ''Albizia'', native to Indomalaya, New Guinea and Northern AustraliaUSDA (1994) and widely cultivated and naturalised in other tropical and subtropical regions. English names for it include Sirisa, Siris, lebbe ...

''), the karoi tree (''

Albizia procera ''Albizia procera'', commonly known as white siris or karoi tree, is a species of large tree found natively in southeast Asia and India. It is most commonly found in open forests, but may also be found on the margins of rain forests and in monsoo ...

'') and the Malay pterocarpus (''

Pterocarpus indicus ''Pterocarpus indicus'' (commonly known as Amboyna wood, Malay padauk, Papua New Guinea rosewood, Philippine mahogany, Andaman redwood, Burmese rosewood, narra and asana in the Philippines, angsana, or Pashu padauk) is a species of ''Pterocarpus ...

'').

Fauna

The forest is home to native species such as the zenaida dove ( ''Zenaida aurita''), the scaly-naped pigeon ('' Patagioenas squamosa''), the gray kingbird ( ''Tyrannus dominicensis''), the northern mockingbird ('' Mimus polyglottos''), bananaquits ('' Coereba flaveola''), red-tailed hawks ( ''Buteo jamaicensis'') and the Puerto Rican mango ('' Anthracothorax aurulentus''); endemic species such as the Puerto Rican woodpecker ( ''Melanerpes portoricensis''), the Puerto Rican spindalis ( ''Spindalis portoricensis''), the Puerto Rican tanager ( ''Nesospingus speculiferus'') and the green mango hummingbird ( ''Anthracothorax viridis''); and migratory species such as the black-and-white warbler ( ''Mniotilta varia''), the Caribbean martin ( ''Progne dominicensis'') and the black-whiskered vireo ( ''Vireo altiloquues''). The forest is also home to several reptile and amphibian species such as the Puerto Rican crested anole (''

Anolis cristatellus ''Anolis cristatellus'' is a small species of anole, belonging to the Dactyloidae family of reptiles, which is native to Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, with introduced populations in locations around the Caribbean. The ma ...

'') and the common coqui (''

Leptodactylus albilabris ''Leptodactylus albilabris'' is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. Common names Its local name is ranita de labio blanco or sapito de labio blanco ("white-lipped froglet") and English name either Gunther's white-lipped frog or Hisp ...

'').

Recreation

Although being located next to the

San Juan Botanical Garden The San Juan Botanical Garden, officially known as the Botanical Garden of the University of Puerto Rico, is located in the Caribbean city of San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico. This lush “urban garden” of native and exotic flora serves as ...

, the urban forest is not usually open to visitors and those interested in visiting it should contact the forest offices to arrange a visit (787-772-2009). The forest offers great opportunities for birdwatching and nature photography for those who do visit.

References