P.R. Laws tit. 12, § 5103
The Great Northeast Ecological Corridor Nature Reserve (GNECNR) is located along the coastal zone of the Pitahaya and Juan Martín wards in the Municipality of Luquillo and the Quebrada Fajardo and Cabezas wards in the Municipality of Fajardo, between latitude 18º20’50” N and 18º22’51” N, and longitude 65º38’12” W and 65º42’49” W. To the North lies the Atlantic Ocean and to the West the historic urban center of the Municipality of Luquillo, as well as the El Cemí and Yuquiyú housing projects and the Rafael N. Coca Junior High School. To the South is State Road PR-3 and the Community of Borrás sector, also known as Juan Martín Afuera. To the south, in the Municipality of Fajardo, lies again State Road PR-3, as well as the Vistas del Convento housing project; Eastern Plaza Mall shopping center; the Fajardo Gardens, Vistas del Convento, and Monte Brisas subdivisions; the Cascajo sector; and the southern limits of the El Convento and Seven Seas parcels. To the East lies the recreational facilities of the Seven Seas parcels.
The lands that constitute the GNECNR cover approximately 4,125 cuerdas of dry land and a portion of the sea equal to 65,582 cuerdas (including territorial waters and submerged lands and ecosystems), which extends 9 nautical miles seaward, between the sea-covered areas of Río Espiritu Santo and Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserves; it also includes a marine corridor located between La Cordillera and Canal Luis Peña Nature Reserves. There are 18.85 km of protected coastline in the GNECNR, which include the protection of important beaches and nesting areas for endangered sea turtles. The new Northeast marine corridor is the second largest in Puerto Rico, protecting an area of 182,354 cuerdas. It is only surpassed in size by the waters and submerged lands protected by the designation of the Isla de Mona and Monito Nature Reserve (384,870.84 cuerdas).
Likewise, the GNECNR includes the riparian corridors that flow into the El Yunque National Forest and are formed by the Sabana, Pitahaya, and Juan Martín rivers, their tributaries, and the riparian buffers along their riverbanks. The riparian corridor area of the aforementioned rivers, streams, and tributaries in the GNECNR also includes shallow bodies of water and a strip 20 meters wide, measured horizontally from both riverbanks that extends all the way from their source up to where they join the main component of the GNECNR. However, in no case do they include any currently existing residential, commercial, or industrial structures or parts thereof.
History —June 25, 2012, No. 126, § 4.