NYT: Turtles vs. Tourism in Puerto Rico

[Omaha Steve]

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/turtles-vs-tourism-in-puerto-rico/

By MIREYA NAVARRO
Green: Science

At first there were only a few nests. But over the last two decades, hundreds of leatherback sea turtles have made the beaches near the El Yunque national rain forest in northeastern Puerto Rico a popular Caribbean destination.


Kike Calvo for The New York Times A baby leatherback turtle.


Now, dozens of environmental groups are asking federal officials to designate the prime tourist development area a critical habitat for the endangered leatherback before other visitors threaten them.

In a letter to the Interior secretary, Ken Salazar, and the Commerce secretary, Gary Locke, the groups, led by the Sierra Club, say that the “northeast ecological corridor” has become Puerto Rico’s largest nesting site for the leatherback, hosting more than 450 nests a year on three beaches. The groups say the population is now at risk because of a decision last October by Governor Luis Fortuño to revoke a natural reserve designation for the 3,000-acre area.

Government officials said the designation was made without adequate analysis, public hearings or notification to private landowners within the reserve and that it required further study. It also called for the government to acquire private lands in the corridor without allocating the necessary public funds for the purchases, the officials said.

But the environmental designation also conflicts with previous government plans for the development of tourism in the area, one of the last undeveloped coastlines in Puerto Rico. Several developers have their sights on the coastline between the towns of Luquillo and Fajardo, hoping to build residences and hotels. This has stirred fears that mega-resorts and luxury housing are soon to come.

The communities in the corridor already host tourists and even hold an annual leatherback turtle festival, the environmentalists’ letter said. New federal protection, the groups say, would ensure that tourism in the area remains “rooted in locally owned businesses, sustainable development and ecotourism.”