Puerto Rico has a new nature reserve.

Playa Grande, El Paraiso is known to be the beach with the highest rate of leatherback turtle nesting activity throughout Puerto Rico in the past four years.

Ad now Governor Alejandro García Padilla has appointed Playa Grande as a new reserve.

“By designating this beach as a protected area, we are not only keeping this place for the permanence of the leatherback, the world’s largest sea turtle– we are also protecting native coastal vegetation, among other organisms and ecosystems,” said García Padilla. “This action is in the right and the sole purpose of preserving our natural treasures for the enjoyment of future generations direction.”

The beach is home to an important coral reef system, which is essential for species that inhabit the island, and serves as a protective barrier from flooding.

The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, as well as other community organizations such as the turtle group Chelo-Dorado, have hosted many projects related to sea turtle conservation and environmental restoration on the beach.

The delimitation of this new nature reserve is in line with the Planned Land Use of Puerto Rico, approved in November 2015.

“I am convinced that when converting Playa Grande, El Paraiso as a nature reserve, and promoting our mission with regard to the conservation of our own, we benefit from greater awareness, respect and prudence for natural resources. Today we take a further step on the path to achieve more land and protected areas in Puerto Rico, in order to achieve a better and more orderly urban and social development,” he said.