How Puerto Rican Communities Restored Paradise to Its Natural State
Transforming a landfill into an oceanside oasis isn’t easy, but it’s necessary
As you drive down Puerto Rico’s Route 466, the Spanish-style houses and roadside panaderías start to peel away. The road buckles and plunges toward a white-capped Atlantic. Seaside cliffs rise, and trees stretch gnarled limbs into a semi-canopy.
Driving farther still, you reach the remnants of a dune sea tracing the asphalt. Beyond the sandy, mangrove-dotted hills, the sound of the ocean rises as it hammers the shore. This is the Mabodamaca Community Natural Reserve in Isabela, Puerto Rico. Named after the Taíno cacique, the reserve is a beautiful and wild place, where brown pelicans float gracefully offshore, sharing space with surfers who descend from beyond the cliff.
On any given Saturday, you’ll see a few cars nestled up to the edge of the mangroves, their owners periodically emerging from the water. But on this pristine morning, the designated parking area is almost full. And it’s not because some rare swell has brought about epic conditions or a surf competition.
Since 2006, members of the surrounding communities have come together with the guidance and support of local organizations to reforest and preserve the area…
