Environmental Protection
& Ecological Maintenance

Tropic Ventures holds over half the property at Las Casas de la Selva in its natural state as a rainforest preserve.  This area provides a protected habitat for Puerto Rican native flora and fauna as well as a long-term study site for research and limited public and student familiarization in the areas of: ecology, botany, forestry, horticulture, soil, ethnobotany, and other related environmental disciplines. 

Ongoing efforts over the years and experiments have shown that planting bamboo has minimized soil erosion, and reforestation has been successful on bare slopes with fast growing pines and other native trees. The property consists of three main watersheds, of which Quebrida Hormiga and Quebrida Icaco feed into Lake Patillas, making it imperative to maintain these forestlands for the water supply of the local population. 250,000 people take their water from this resevoir. There is a demonstration Wastewater Garden on the site.

Nursery and Sawmill :
To augment the sustainable forestry practices, there is a nursery area that provides protection for saplings being raised on the site. There is also a private sawmill operated under strict sustainable ecological guidelines. Facilities include a mobile sawmill, and timber storage areas. There is also a fully equipped woodshop, where products are made for sale.