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Toro Negro State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro'') is one of the 21 forests that make up the public forests system in Puerto Rico.〔 It is also Puerto Rico's highest cloud forest. It is located in the Cordillera Central region of the island and covers , i.e., 32.24 km2, of mountains. Toro Negro's mountains have heights reaching up to 4,400 feet and include Cerro de Punta,〔(EyeTour - an independent guide to Puerto Rico sponsored by the Government of Puerto Rico Tourism Company. ) Retrieved 27 April 2010.〕 Cerro Jayuya and Cerro Rosa, the three highest peaks in the island. Nested among these mountains is Lake Guineo, the island's highest lake.〔(''Toro Negro State Forest.'' ) Virtual Puerto Rico. Retrieved 31 July 2013.〕 The forest has 18 kilometers of trails, an observation tower, two natural swimming pools (Spanish:''"charcos"''), camping and picnic areas, nine rivers, and numerous creeks and waterfalls.〔(''Region de la Montaña: Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro: Proponen Convertir Toro Negro en Centro Ecoturistico.'' ) Nuestros Bosques - Puerto Rico: Campus Ecologico. Retrieved 26 July 2013.〕 The forest spans areas within the municipalities of Ponce, Jayuya, Orocovis, Ciales, and Juana Díaz, and consists of seven non-contiguous tracts of land.〔〔 The largest contiguous segment of the forest is located in the municipalities of Ponce and Jayuya.〔(Encyclopedia Puerto Rico. Municipalities: Jayuya. )〕 Some 40% of the area of Toro Negro State Forest is located in Ponce's Barrio Anón.〔(Historia de Nuestro Barrios: Barrio Anon, Ponce. ) El Sur a la Vista. 18 October 2010. Rafael Torrech San Inocencio. Retrieved February 13, 2011.〕 When created in 1935 as part of the Caribbean National Forest, the Toro Negro Forest Reserve was managed by the United States government, first via the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration of the Department of the Interior (1935-1942) and later through the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture (1942-1970). Then, in 1970, the Federal Government exchanged with the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico the Toro Negro section of the Caribbean National Forest for some forested lands belonging to the Commonwealth and located adjacent to the much larger federal lands at Luquillo National Forest resulting in the creation at Luquillo of the current El Yunque National Forest.〔(''Where Dwarfs Reign: A Tropical Rain Forest in Puerto Rico.'' ) Kathryn Robinson. La Editorial. University of Puerto Rico. 1997. Retrieved 13 August 2013.〕〔(''Puerto Rico’s Rich History and Natural Resources.'' ) North American Forest Commission. North American Forest Commission Conference. June 8–13, 2008. San Juan, Puerto Rico.〕 In 1970, the Government of Puerto Rico's Departmento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA) opened the Toro Negro Forest Reserve as a Commonwealth state forest and renamed it ''Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro'' (Toro Negro State Forest). ==History== In 1876, Spanish King Alfonso XII of Spain issued the first proclamation for the creation of forest reserves in Puerto Rico.〔(''Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest.'' ) Retrieved 5 August 2013.〕 The land where Toro Negro sits was originally used for coffee plantations until the 1930s when a program of reforestation was commenced.〔(''Welcome to Toro Negro Forestry Reserve.'' ) NewMedia Holdings, Inc. 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.〕 In 1934, those lands were acquired by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA).〔 The forest started with a total of in 1934.〔(''CEP Technical Report No. 36 1996: Status of Protected Area Systems in the Wider Caribbean Region: ANNEX II: PUERTO RICAN PROTECTED AREAS LIST.'' ) Retrieved 14 August 2013.〕 In 1935, of private lands were purchased by the PRRA.〔(''Caribbean National Forest.'' ) Great Outdoor Recreation Pages (GORP): Your Complete Online Resource to the Outside World. Retrieved 12 August 2013.〕〔(''Toro Negro Forest Reserve.'' ) Alexander Gershenson. DNRE, Oct. 1976. UPR-Mayagüez Department of Biology Herbarium. Retrieved 10 August 2013.〕 The forest was not a separate entity at the time; it was part of the Caribbean National Forest, and was administered by the U.S. Forest Service as the Toro Negro Division of the Caribbean National Forest.〔〔 Additional lands brought the total size of the Toro Negro purchase that year to ,〔(''Frank Wadsworth: Tropical Research and Technology Transfer.'' ) Barry Walden Walsh. Forests and Forestry in America: An Encyclopedia. Society of American Foresters. Retrieved 13 August 2013.〕 and at least an additional were in the process of being acquired in 1936.〔(''Land in course of acquisition and land acquired under the Weeks Law, as amended by the Clarke-McNary Law, to June 30, 1936.'' ) Statistical Abstract of the United States. 1937. U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Page 680. 1938. Retrieved 15 August 2013.〕 Between 1934 and 1945 over 3 million seedlings and approximately 19,000 pounds of seeds were sown on of the forest. Twenty-eight species were planted in twenty-nine different plantations.〔 In 1942, the US Department of the Interior transferred the forest to the United States Department of Agriculture. From 1942 to 1961, it was administered by the US Forest Service. During these years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture continued its acquisition of lands increasing the acreage of Toro Negro.〔(''RG 95 U.S. Forest Service, Caribbean National Forest, 1929-1961.'' ) Guide to Puerto Rican Records in the National Archives, New York City. August 2013. Page 27. Retrieved 13 August 12013.〕 In 1961, Toro Negro was transferred to the Government of Puerto Rico.〔(''Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro: Introducción.'' ) DRNA - Puerto Rico Department of Environmental and Natural Resources. Retrieved 29 July 2013.〕 The transfer was finalized on 21 May 1962, when the of land that constituted the Toro Negro Unit of the Caribbean National Forest were signed away to the Government of Puerto Rico by the Federal Government. Of these , were exchanged for located adjacent to the Luquillo Unit of the Caribbean National Forest. The remaining were ceded to Puerto Rico's Department of Agriculture for forestry purposes. This resulted in the Toro Negro State Forest.〔(''Panorama Historico Forestal de Puerto Rico.'' ) Carlos Dominquez Cristobal. Editorial University of Puerto Rico. 2000. Page 558. Retrieved 16 August 2013.〕 Since 1962, approximately 120 cuerdas have been planted to eucalyptus, mahoe, kadam and Honduran pine.〔 In 1962, Toro Negro had , representing 11.32% of Puerto Rico's state forests.〔(''Panorama Historico Forestal de Puerto Rico.'' ) Carlos Dominquez Cristobal. Editorial University of Puerto Rico. 2000. Page 553. Retrieved 16 August 2013.〕 In 1962 the Area Recreacional Doña Juana was added to Toro Negro.〔(''Panorama Historico Forestal de Puerto Rico.'' ) Carlos Dominquez Cristobal. Editorial University of Puerto Rico. 2000. Page 557. Retrieved 16 August 2013.〕 In April 1970, a land exchange which included the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture purchase and transfer of forest lands adjacent to Luquillo Experimental Forest in exchange for the complete transfer of Toro Negro forest lands to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.〔〔 The lower elevations of Toro Negro used to be important coffee-producing plantations, however, the entire forest is especially critical for water and soil conservation.〔 Today, the amount of tree foliage coverage in the forest ranges from 81% in the moist forest zone to 99% in the lower montane wet forest zone.〔 The forest was named for the Río Toro Negro, one of nine rivers that flow out of the forest, and the name of one of the barrios in the Ciales portion of the forest.〔(''Toro Negro Waterfall Climb.'' ) Acampa. Retrieved 13 August 2013.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Toro Negro State Forest」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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