On November 11, 1971, Mr. Clark Foreman and Mrs. Mairi Fraser Foreman granted the development rights of their property in the municipality of Adjuntas to the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico by creating a scenic and conservation easement. Located within Puerto Rico’s Southern Region, the easement protects 41.02 acres of humid forest that include the headwaters of the Portugués River.

Although the legal title of the land belongs to the Foreman family and other successive landowners, the easement restricts the use of the land in perpetuity, safeguarding its trees, vegetation, and other natural resources against any type of destruction or alteration. Specifically, Mr. and Mrs. Clark Foreman wanted to constitute a scenic easement with certain restrictions, limitations and covenants in order to perpetually preserve the property’s natural beauty and condition, and to limit man-made structures or projects.

The establishment of this conservation easement is of great historical significance, as it was the first easement of its kind to be established in Puerto Rico. The legal means to conserve private lands in perpetuity within Puerto Rico were not made possible until 2001, when the Puerto Rico legislature formally approved the Conservation Easement Law.