History

The Forest Historian identifies and studies those events in the history of Puerto Rico in which the forestry business constitute the scenic framework. Through this perspective, emerge, within other themes, changes in the use and tenancy of the lands that have contributed through our history to the present situation of the vegetation coverage in the Island. Between those areas of investigations come into view the Caribbean National Forest, the Forest System that is administered by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico, and those private properties that possessed any type of relationship with the Program of State and Private Forestry from the International Institute of Tropical Forestry. The toponimic studies of the flora, the Municipal and State heraldry of Puerto Rico and the registry of the historic trees constitute an integral part of its responsibilities. These studies incorporate, giving the nature of the diverse themes, the evaluation of maps, photos, books, magazines, and newspapers in the same way as interviews for the recompilation of information inherent to the oral tradition of our flora.

To accomplish these objective, the historian works with different state and federal agencies in Puerto Rico like the Library and Archives of the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Archive of the Caribbean National Forest, Library and Archive of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico, Jose M. Lázaro Library in the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras Campus, Department of Education of Puerto Rico, Department of Agriculture of Puerto Rico, Property Registry in the Department of Justice, and the Library and General Archive of Puerto Rico (Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña). Given the historic relation between Spain and United States of America, the investigation is re-enacted in different places like the National Historic Archive of the Ministry of Culture (Madrid, Spain) and the National Historic Archive (Washington, D.C.) of the United States of America.

Given the nature of the historic forest investigation, this is carried out in collaboration with librarians, archivists, archeologists, ecologists, professors, and students of different levels as with landowners and the public in general within others. The results of these investigations or collaborations are reported in writing, visual, graphics, or different formats of oral character for the use and enjoyment of those ones that for different motives are related with the historic forest themes of our Country.

Here is a list of some publications made by our historian.