Release No. 4003.06 Jim Brownlee (202) 720-4623 Dan Jiron (202) 205-1134 JOHANNS MARKS DESIGNATION OF EL TORO AS FIRST PROTECTED TROPICAL WILDERNESS AREA WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2006 - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño will mark the first tropical rain forest to be designated as a wilderness area, the El Toro Wilderness in Puerto Rico's Caribbean National Forest at an event on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006 at 10 a.m. WHAT: Event to mark the designation of the El Toro Wilderness WHO: Mike Johanns, Secretary of Agriculture Mark Rey, Under Secretary of Agriculture Dale Bosworth, Forest Service Chief Luis Fortuño, Resident Commissioner, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico WHEN: Thurs., Jan. 19, 2006, 10 a.m. WHERE: Yates Federal Bldg., USDA Forest Service 2nd Floor, Chief's Conference Room 14th and Independence Ave., Washington D.C. HOW: Smithsonian metro one block away. No parking provided. Members of the media should allow extra time to go through security checkpoint in building. BACKGROUND: The El Toro Wilderness' 10,000 acres joins the more than 105 million acres of National Wilderness Preservation System land already established by Congress. The El Toro Wilderness, named after the highest peak in El Yunque, is the first designated tropical wilderness in the Western Hemisphere as well as the first wilderness area in Puerto Rico. # USDA News oc.news@xxxxxxxx 202 720-4623 ---------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to webservices@xxxxxxxx and reference your email address.
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