By The Star Staff
Three people who became disoriented in Guánica’s Dry Forest were rescued on Saturday by employees of the southwestern town’s Municipal Office of Emergency Management (OMME by its Spanish acronym), said the office’s director, Carlos Pratdesaba.
“The two adults and a child were lost during an excursion and got separated from the group that accompanied them. The search began immediately after the emergency call by people on the Lluveras Trail,” Pratdesaba said in a written statement. “We appreciate the work of rescuers such as Rudecindo Cruz, Luis Tirado, José Santiago, Francisco Caraballo and Miguel Alicea, all under the command of experienced OMME rescuers.”
“For us the conservation of our natural resources is of great importance and we urge all visitors to duly follow the recommendations of guides and experts in the area,” the OMME director added.
Since 1919 the Guánica Dry Forest has been officially protected at the state and federal level. In 1981, the United Nations (UN) recognized its ecological value and designated it as the second International Biospheric Reserve in Puerto Rico. The first was the Caribbean National Forest (El Yunque).
The state forest has the global distinction of being the subtropical forest that is probably the best preserved and least altered by man.