Puerto Rico Joint Chief Landscapes Restoration Partnership Initiative Presentation by Southwestern Soil and Water Conservation PR District, NRCS, USFS and USFWS.

1. Contáctanos en:
USDA-NRCS Caribbean Area
Ricardo Colón Merced
Biólogo Área del Caribe
787-766-5529 / 939-208-0942
ricardo.colon@usda.gov
USFS
Magaly Figueroa
Directora de Programas del USFS
787-764-7718
mafigueroa@fs.fed.us
USFWS
Iván Llerandi Román
Coordinador del Programa de
Restauración del Hábitat del Caribe
ivan_llerandi-roman@fws.gov
DCSAS
Isela Ortiz Toro
Administradora del Distrito de
Conservación del Suroeste
939-272-1148
isela.ortiz@distritosuroeste.com
Joint Chiefs' Landscape
Restoration Partnership
Initiative on Puerto Rico

2. Caribbean Joint
Chiefs' Landscape
Restoration Partnership
Magaly Figueroa – USFS
Ricardo Colón – NRCS
Isela Ortiz – Southwest SWCD
Iván Llerandi-Román – USFWS
July 18, 2022

3. Joint Chiefs’ Landscape
Restoration Partnership
Background:
► Partnership established in 2014
by the Chiefs of USFS and NRCS
 Enables collaboration between
USFS and NRCS
► Based in partnerships to
conserve and restore important
landscapes
► General Objectives:
 Protect water quality and supply for
communities and industry
 Improve habitat conditions for at-risk
species
 Reduce and mitigate wildlife threats to
communities and landowners

4. Puerto Rico Joint Chiefs’ Landscape
Restoration Partnership
► Originated from the Forestry, Wildlife, and Wetland
Sub-committee, part of the NRCS State Technical
Committee
► 2015 - 2016 first proposal not approved
► Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017
► 2017 second proposal submitted and approved for
Southwest Puerto Rico. In 2021 a second project was
approved for Eastern Puerto Rico
► Partnership between NRCS-USFS-USFWS
► Objectives of the Joint Chiefs’ LRP in Puerto Rico
 Improve habitat quality for at-risk ecosystems or focal
threatened and endangered bird species
 Promote connectivity between private and public lands
by establishing biological corridors to conserve and
protect targeted species
 Mitigate impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria to our
forest resources
 Establish a new population of Eugenia haematocarpa at
El Yunque National Forest and adjacent private lands
 Protect water quality and supply for communities and
industries
 Reduce and mitigate the threat of fires to
communities and private landowners

5. 1
5
2
4
3
6
Water Quality
and Supply
2
Protect
Wildfire threats
6
Reduce
Health and
resiliency of Forest
ecosystems
3
Improve
Public and private lands to
provide long term benefits to
natural resources and
production
4
Meet
With agricultural
producers and forest
landowners to invest
in conservation and
restoration
5
Collaborate
Conservation and
Restoration.
Promote habitat
connectivity
1
Target
PR Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership
7
7
Restore
Wildlife habitat for at-
risk & T&E species

6. Initiative Components
Technical Assistance
for farmers and
landowners
Forest Stewardship
Management Plan
Tree propagation for
selected native species
Wildfire Prevention
Workshops
1
2
3
4
Volunteer Monitoring
Protocols Activities
Outreach and
Community Education
Financial Assistance
for Conservation
practices implemented
Propagation of Eugenia
heamatorcapa at El
Yunque National Forest
5
6
7
8
1 5
2
4 8
6
7
3

7. Partners on the PR Joint
Chiefs’ Landscape
Restoration Partnership

8. Southwest Soil and
Water Conservation
District
Protectores de
Cuencas
Para La
Naturaleza
Cafiesencia
CCP
Trees Propagation and delivery (40k)
Workshops (fire prevention)
Development of Forest Stewardship Plans
& Outreach
Monitoring: Protocols by Mapa de Vida
U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
Planning, Coordination, Technical
Assistance & Establishment of No-cost
Landowner Agreements
NRCS
Envirosurvey
Technical Assistance
Trees Propagation &
Practice Certification
Outreach, education, workshops
Sea Grant
Planning, Coordination,
Outreach, Education, Workshops
U.S. Forest Service
Planning, Coordination, Technical
Assistance & Establishment of
Conservation Contracts

9. Qualified Participants under the EQIP program receive:
Financial Assistance from NRCS
Technical Assistance from:
NRCS - Conservation Plan
USFS – Educational Material
USFWS – No-Cost Agreements, Practice Certifications
and be part of Partner for Fish and wildlife Program
Cafiesencia and Centro para la Conservación del
Paisaje – Forest Stewardship Management Plan
PDC - Trees that help reinforce implemented
conservation practices,
PLN - Monitoring Activities with volunteer experts and
landowners to collect data to Life Map Program
Participate in Educational workshops related to the
Conservation Initiative and practices. Coordinated by
Sea Grant and Conservation District.
What does the
farmer receive?

10. Accomplishments
24 Monitoring
What is FSP?
Two wildfire prevention
trainings
What is JCLRP?
4 Workshops
Forest Stewardship
Management Plans
55 FSP
Farmers and
landowners
benefited by JCILRP
136 farmers
Tree propagation
of selected
species
21K trees planted
Volunteers and
landowner
monitoring
activities

12. US Fish and Wildlife Service
► US Fish and Wildlife have been working in the Joint Chiefs’ LRP
Initiative since the beginning.
 Chair of the Wildlife, Wetland and Forestry Subcommittee
 Development of the first proposal
 Initiative Coordination & Implementation(NRCS/USFWS IA)
 Threatened & Endangered Species
 PFW Program No-cost Landowner Agreements
 Technical Assistances
 Consultations

13. T&E Bird species (Western Initiative):
► Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata)
► Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus venator)
► Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus brunnescens)
► Elfin-woods warbler (Setophaga angelae)
T&E Plant species (Eastern Initiative):
► Eugenia haematocarpa
► Stahlia monosperma
► Goetzea elegans
► Calyptronoma srivalis
EWWA
Puerto Rican Parrot
Focal species within the project areas
PR sharped-shinned
hawk
PR broad-winged hawk PR Elfin-woods warbler

14. Questions

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17. The U.S. Forest Service offers:
Project Leadership
Technical Assistance
Forest Stewardship Management Plan
Training for collaborators
Funding for plant material propagation,
monitoring activities, education, and
outreach

18. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical and
financial assistance to qualified landowners and farmers..

19. Conservation
Practices Applied to
JCLRP
• Fire Barriers (394)
Fences (382)
Removal of flammable material (383)
Live hedge planting (422)
Planting at multiple levels (379)
Riparian forest buffers (391)
Silvopastoreo (318)
Establishment of trees / shrubs (612)
Tree/shrub site preparation (490)
Highland wildlife habitat management (645)

20. From the US Fish and Wildlife Service:
Properties initial evaluation
Technical Assistance
Establishment of No-Cost Landowner
Agreements under the PFW Program
(establish a retention period to ensure
participants maintain implemented practices
in place for at least 10 years).
Properties evaluation to implement T&E
species recovery actions

21. The Southwest Soil and Water Conservation
District is conservation
Helping the farmer and the natural
resources in its environment.
✔ Manages Forest Service’s funds allocated to
the Initiative
✔ Carries out contracts with all collaborators
and suppliers that carry out the work and
objectives of the Initiative
✔ Oversees actions and certify that are
carried out according to the specifications
of NRCS and the Forest Service

22. Centro para la Conservación del Paisaje and
Cafiesencia:
Conduct site visits to farms after
Conservation Contracts are signed
Collects data related to the natural
resources, resources concern and
landowners' objectives for forest
management within their properties
Develop Forest Stewardship Management
Plans to procure sustainable forest
management, files them in SMART and DRNA
and delivers the final product to the
landowners for implementation..

24. PROTECTORES DE CUENCAS INC. (PDC) and
ENVIROSURVEY INC.
Under the initiative PDC and Envirosurvey propagates
and delivers trees of selected species to the
implementation of different conservation priorities.
Provides Technical Assistance to the participants.
Prepare an area in El Yunque National Forest for the
propagation and maintenance of the Eugenia
haematocarpa individuals and planting them to establish
a new population within the National Forest.

26. ✔ It will recruit and train volunteer personnel specialized in the
different areas (flora, fauna and other protocols) to collect
information in the monitoring activities that will be carried
out in the participating farms and properties to be part of
Mapa de Vida

27. ✔ Project Collaborators
Provide technical assistance to
the Initiative Team
State Forest Management
Plans Work

28. Bi-monthly calls
/ meetings

29. Tree deliveries / and
other activities

30. Tree planting activities and
community involvement…

31. Tree planting activities and community
involvement…

32. Forest Management Plans

33. Workshops

34. Southwest Soil and Water Conservation District
P.O. Box 1081
Guánica, PR 00653.
939-272-1148
isela.ortiz@distritosuroeste.com
SSWCD

35. Contáctanos en:
USDA-NRCS Caribbean Area
Ricardo Colón Merced
Biólogo Área del Caribe
787-766-5529 / 939-208-0942
ricardo.colon@usda.gov
USFS
Magaly Figueroa
Directora de Programas del USFS
787-764-7718
mafigueroa@fs.fed.us
USFWS
Iván Llerandi Román
Coordinador del Programa de
Restauración del Hábitat del Caribe
ivan_llerandi-roman@fws.gov
DCSAS
Isela Ortiz Toro
Administradora del Distrito de
Conservación del Suroeste
939-272-1148
isela.ortiz@distritosuroeste.com Esta publicación fue posible gracias a una subvencióndel Departamento de
Agricultura de los Estados Unidos de América.