ocr: Plastic-coated hikers brave a downpour at Caribbean National Forest in Puerto Rico, the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. system. Surrounded by civilization, the 28,000-acre forest is a lifeboat for the endangered Puerto Rican parrot and al living laboratory for scientists studying tropical forest ecology. accumulations off trash, deferred maintenance awash in charcoal smoke and boom-box deci- of trails and campgrounds, and law enforce- bels. Iti is a scene played over and over again, ment stretched to the breaking point. not only here on the fringe ofl Los Angeles but also in forests near ...
