El Yunque National Forest

Welcome to El Yunque

Greetings, website viewers from all over the world -- As a "Borinqueño" (a native son of Puerto Rico) I encourage you to visit us and take full advantage of El Yunque's many exciting features -- our island's premier eco-tourism location is the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest system!

The moment that you enter El Yunque you will discover that our friendly, professional staff is dedicated to the Forest Service mission of “Caring for the land and serving people.”

El Yunque has been a Federal Forest Reserve for over a century – we celebrated our centennial anniversary, our first “Century of Service” to the public in 2003.

We are constantly working to ensure the sustainability of El Yunque's ecosystems and to secure its urban interface -- encroaching development on the Forest's border, and the impending threat of global climate change are among the difficult list of challenges El Yunque faces. We are working closely with government and the public to mutually discover and then implement changes that will ensure your future enjoyment of this unique and irreplaceable tropical jewel.

I hope to have the chance to greet you personally when you visit El Yunque.

Hasta pronto (see you soon)

Pablo Cruz,
Forest Supervisor

What's New?

New 7 Wonders of Nature

HAVE YOU HEARD THE LATEST NEWS?

Your votes have made the difference! Because you took the time to vote, the El Yunque National Forest has been thrust into the international spotlight – becoming one of only 28 outstanding international finalists in the exciting World New 7 Wonders of Nature Competition! 

Selection as a finalist from among an outstanding group of 261 nature venues from all over the world is both an enormous achievement and a great honor…

It happened only because you believed so strongly in this incredibly bio-diverse forest, and the potential educational and recreational impact it can have on the international community, but, most importantly, you took the time to vote for El Yunque!

The Final Phase of the Contest has now officially begun – and we need your help again if the El Yunque Rainforest is to take its rightful place as one of the WORLD NEW 7 WONDERS OF NATURE!

YOUR VOTE WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!

Here’s what YOU can do to make this happen – VOTE HERE  for EL YUNQUE – the ECO-TOURISM JEWEL of the CARIBBEAN and the ONLY TROPICAL RAIN FOREST in the U.S. FOREST SYSTEM!

Voting will continue throughout 2010 and on into 2011 – during this period the NEW 7 WONDERS OF NATURE TOUR will visit each of the finalists to allow them to present themselves to voters across the globe – the final declaration of the 7 winning New Wonders of Nature will be made in 2011…

So, get ahead of the crowd and VOTE TODAY for the EL YUNQUE NATIONAL FOREST – AND THEN STAY TUNED FOR THE EXCITMENT!

• Upcoming Events

• On Our Website...

¡Nuestra página está disponible en ESPAÑOL!
HAGA CLIC AQUÍ para acceder a la versión traducida.

CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO Y EL YUNQUE decargue aquí la presentación
(English translation coming soon)

CLICK HERE to read the latest edition of El Bosque Pluvial, our El Yunque National Forest Newsletter. Get up to date on the latest happenings in America's only tropical rainforest!

Related Website Links:

Flora Borinqueña Digital Herbarium and Library

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBC) has recently digitized the Flora Borinqueña Digital Herbarium and Library - a virtual copy of the vitally important scientific papers of the botanist team of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Britton. Beginning over a century ago, the Britton team, who co-founded the NYBC, made numerous "expeditions" to Puerto Rico during which they collected over 10.000 species of tropical flowering plants, lichen, fungi and algae, many from the Luquillo mountains. Over the years they recorded 38 new endemic species. El Yunque's famous Mt. Britton was named in their honor.

This NYBG site features the Britton's complete "Botany of Porto (sic) Rico and the Virgin Islands" (1923-1930) as well as many beautiful, cross-referenced watercolor illustrations by Frances Horne from Nathaniel Britton’s unpublished "Flora Borinqueña." Horne later illustrated Little, Wadsworth and Marrero's "Árboles Comunes de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes" (1968).

Click here to go to directly to the NYBG page.

America's Rain Forest Electronic Field Trip

Teachers and Home Schooling Parents: this link takes you to the America's Rain Forests Education Project - an exciting "electronic field trip," free lesson plans, a downloadable recording of the original broadcast, and lots more useful information about temperate and tropical rain forests in America.

• At the El Portal Rainforest Center…

NEW Movie at El Portal!!!

• At the Forest’s Eastern National Bookstores…

Stay tuned for details

Scouting Trails Program is for EVERYONE!

This program is a gift from the Boy Scouts to ALL kids to celebrate the Centennial of the World Scouting Program. CLICK HERE to learn more. (Please note that the Scouting Trails Website is in Spanish).

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