Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) for Puerto Rico 2014-2019 Puerto Rico National Parks Company February 2014 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) for Puerto Rico 1 Introduction The Puerto Rico National Park Company has the responsibility of preparing and updating every five years the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) for Puerto Rico. The SCORP allows the National Park Company the opportunity to identify the outdoor recreational needs and demand of the population in Puerto Rico. This Comprehensive Plan also helps to identify opportunities to improve and protect the outdoor recreational areas, as well as to guaranty the access of these areas to the general population. This SCORP will cover from the year 2013 to the year 2018. With the comprehensive plan, we aim to meet the following objectives: Identify the needs of the population regarding outdoor recreation. Identify the preferences of the population regarding outdoor recreation. Identify and update an inventory of places for outdoor recreation in Puerto Rico. Identify opportunities related to outdoor recreation in Puerto Rico. Provide recommendations for the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan within the next five years. Components of the SCORP This SCORP has six main components: Socio-demographic Profile including key demographic characteristics for the population in Puerto Rico Study of demand for outdoor recreation Inventory of places for outdoor recreation Wetlands component Identification of opportunities Five-year implementation plan (2014 to 2019) February 2014 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) for Puerto Rico 2 CONTENT INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE ............................................................................................................... 4 REGIONS COMPOSITION ................................................................................................................................... 4 SIZE AND GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION ...................................................................................... 5 POPULATION BY AGE AND SEX............................................................................................................................ 7 EDUCATION ................................................................................................................................................... 9 INCOME AND POVERTY LEVELS ......................................................................................................................... 10 HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY TYPE ........................................................................................................................ 10 POPULATION WITH DISABILITIES ....................................................................................................................... 11 AVAILABILITY OF VEHICLES .............................................................................................................................. 11 STUDY OF DEMAND FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION ................................................................................. 12 METHODOLOGY FOR THE PHONE SURVEY ........................................................................................................... 12 RESULTS...................................................................................................................................................... 13 Profile of participants .......................................................................................................................... 13 Importance of outdoor recreation ...................................................................................................... 14 Satisfaction with the opportunities of outdoor recreation.................................................................. 15 Changes with the situation of the offer of outdoor recreation during the past five years .................. 16 Satisfaction with aspects of outdoor recreation in Puerto Rico .......................................................... 17 Obstacles for the outdoor recreation .................................................................................................. 19 Problems for outdoor recreation ......................................................................................................... 21 Participation in outdoor recreation activities ..................................................................................... 22 More frequent outdoor recreation activities ...................................................................................... 27 Outdoor recreation would like in the community and municipality .................................................... 31 RESULTS BY REGION ....................................................................................................................................... 34 Satisfaction at the municipality level .................................................................................................. 34 Northwest Region ............................................................................................................................... 35 South Region ....................................................................................................................................... 36 North Region ....................................................................................................................................... 37 Metropolitan Region ........................................................................................................................... 38 Southwest Region ............................................................................................................................... 39 El Toa Region ....................................................................................................................................... 40 Central Region ..................................................................................................................................... 41 Northeast Region ................................................................................................................................ 42 Southeast Region ................................................................................................................................ 43 Central South Region........................................................................................................................... 44 FOCUS GROUPS RESULTS ....................................................................................................................... 45 RESULTS OF DISCUSSION WITH MUNICIPALITY (COUNTY EQUIVALENT) REPRESENTATIVES ............................................. 45 RESULTS OF DISCUSSION WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS) ........................... 50 INVENTORY OF PLACES FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION ............................................................................ 56 CLASSIFICATION AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 56 February 2014 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) for Puerto Rico 3 FINDINGS .................................................................................................................................................... 59 Parks and Courts ................................................................................................................................. 61 National Parks ..................................................................................................................................... 61 Other parks or courts .......................................................................................................................... 62 Natural Places ..................................................................................................................................... 63 Other places for outdoor recreation ................................................................................................... 65 WETLANDS ............................................................................................................................................. 67 WETLANDS DEFINITION, CHARACTERISTICS, AND CATEGORIES ............................................................................... 67 WETLANDS IN PUERTO RICO ........................................................................................................................... 68 MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION OF WETLANDS ................................................................................................ 70 PROTECTED WETLANDS ................................................................................................................................. 71 NATURAL RESERVES ...................................................................................................................................... 72 ESTUARIES WITH IMPORTANT WETLANDS IN PUERTO RICO ................................................................................... 73 MANGROVES FOREST – WETLANDS IN AREAS OF SPECIAL PLANNING ...................................................................... 73 CONSERVATION PRIORITY AREAS 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