Guzman penned a letter to be sent to Fortuno this week, voicing his concerns about the ecological, humane and economic consequences if the project moves forward, said the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington.

"I consider Puerto Rico my second home, and I own property and spend a great deal of time on the island. I was born in Cayey, which is, as you know, about a 30-minute drive north of Guayama, so this feels rather personal to me," Guzman wrote in the letter. "Like the Guayama City Council, which has expressed strong opposition to the monkey farm, I'm worried about the potential environmental and economic consequences of this project."

The committee said a primate supply company in Maritius plans to take long-tailed macaques from the forests there, breed them in Puerto Rico and sell the offspring for use in product-testing and experiments.

Guzman's movie credits include "Boogie Nights," "Traffic" and "The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3." He also was a longtime cast member of the HBO prison drama, "Oz."

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.

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Environmentalists alarmed by Puerto Rico policies

By MIKE MELIA (AP)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Sweeping from lush mountain rain forests to pristine beaches, a corridor of land protected by Puerto Rico's last governor hosts dozens of rare and endangered species and was championed by celebrities who helped fight off resort proposals.

Now new Gov. Luis Fortuno has revoked the reserve as part of a drive to bring jobs and investment for the U.S. territory's struggling economy. And activists see a broader pattern of looser protection for the island's environment.

Fortuno's Oct. 30 order allows large-scale development inside the 3,200-acre 1,300-hectare) parcel of land immediately north of El Yunque, the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest system.

Previous Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila had declared the Northeast Ecological Corridor off-limits to all but small, eco-friendly projects after a preservation campaign backed by actor Benicio del Toro and attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Fortuno also backs legislation that would make it harder for environmental groups to block construction permits and he supports a new coal-fired power plant and garbage facilities that worry environmentalists.

"We could be in quite a lot of trouble as an island," said Camilla Feibelman, the Sierra Club's coordinator in Puerto Rico.

The Caribbean territory of 4 million people already struggles with overpopulation and the legacy of decades of industrial contamination. Polluted surface water and reservoirs mean Puerto Rico has a tenth as much fresh water per person as the U.S. mainland, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The island is also dotted with Superfund sites where the EPA is overseeing the cleanup of contaminants.

"We have to be a lot more careful than any territory or state in the U.S. with how we use our scarce resources, and we are not doing that," said Abel Vale Nieves, president of the Citizens for the Karst group that promotes protection for sensitive limestone terrain.

But spurring the economy has been Fortuno's top priority since his election last year as the island's first Republican governor in four decades. The 49-year-old former tourism chief faces an unemployment rate that has soared above 16 percent.

His office declined to grant an interview but Planning Board president Hector Morales denied Fortuno's policies threaten the environment.

"The government of Puerto Rico has been clear about creating a balance between conserving important natural resources and sustainable development," Morales said.

Fortuno says most of the northeast corridor will endure as a preserve, and all plans there are on hold while the government evaluates which lands are the most sensitive.

But developers recently have pitched hotels, a golf course and a shopping center.

Fortuno's policies have encountered little strong political opposition because both houses of the legislature and most of the island's mayorships are controlled by his New Progressive Party, which supports making Puerto Rico a U.S. state.

But hundreds have demonstrated against the decision on the Northeast preserve and the governor's approval ratings have dropped sharply since his landslide victory against an incumbent facing a federal indictment on corruption charges.

Political analyst Manuel Alvarez-Rivera said some Puerto Ricans believe "Gov. Fortuno is trying to rule as if he is in a state in the U.S. mainland."

Environmental groups complain that a bill meant to speed issuance of development permits restricts input from outsiders, making it tougher to halt projects they see as dangerous.

Activists also say they are skeptical of a proposed plant to generate power from garbage, most likely by burning it, in the southeastern city of Yabucoa.

Ports Authority director Alvaro Pilar said it could process waste imported from other Caribbean islands and he said the government is pursuing as many as five such plants, which are common on the U.S. mainland.

He said they would help the island cope with a solid waste crisis and said the idea will eventually win over critics concerned about the risk of contamination and the island's tourism image.

"At the end of the day, the electricity and savings are going to be enjoyed by the Puerto Rican people," he said.

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Plan to breed lab monkeys splits Puerto Rican town

By JILL LASTER (AP)

GUAYAMA, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rico has such a bad history with research monkeys running amok, some residents are stunned that its territorial government has approved a plan to import and breed thousands of primates for sale to U.S. researchers.

Bioculture Ltd., with facilities at 19 sites around the world, has secured permits to begin operating next summer in Guayama, a small, depressed mountain district in southeastern Puerto Rico. They want to turn the Caribbean territory into a major supplier of primates, much to the dismay of islanders already dealing with a plague of patas monkeys -- descendants of lab escapees that run though backyards, stop traffic and destroy crops.

The company, based in the African island nation of Mauritius, says the operation will employ at least 50 people and buy fruit from local farmers, an important consideration on an island where unemployment is nearly 16 percent.

"This will help many people in the community," said Olga Colon, a local school principal who has collected 300 signatures in support of the facility. She said Bioculture has pledged to buy supplies for her school.

But the project is opposed by everyone from Guayama Mayor Glorimari Jaime to Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro, who says it's unethical to breed monkeys for research, and renowned primatologist Jane Goodall.

"We know now that monkeys have minds, personalities, and, above all, they have feelings," Goodall said during a recent visit to Puerto Rico. "What we do for monkeys in medical research -- if you were a monkey, it would be torture."

Local residents have filed a lawsuit supported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that says Bioculture failed to submit a full environmental impact statement or hold public hearings.

They say Bioculture allegedly paid fees for a $2 million project, when the project costs $12 million. The company denies the allegations.

A judge could decide as early Monday whether to order an injunction to halt construction. Either side could appeal the ruling to the state Court of Appeals.

Bioculture's facility, the first in a U.S. jurisdiction, plans to start with 1,000 Crab-eating Macaques, natives of Southeast Asia, and eventually hold up to 3,000.

Puerto Rico has long struggled to control hundreds of patas monkeys, descendants of primates that escaped in recent decades from research projects and now thrive in the lush tropical environment.

No labs want the patas monkeys because they're no longer right for research, and many are diseased. There isn't much demand from zoos, either. So rangers from the island's Department of Natural Resources trap and kill them.

Wilson Nazario Torres fears the people of Guayama will suffer like those in his hometown, Lajas, which has been overrun by patas monkeys. The three that live in his back yard are so used to humans, he can't scare them away.

"If this project was offered in any state in the United States, they wouldn't allow it," said Roberto Cintron, a 46-year-old resident of Carmen, a Guayama neighborhood close to the facility site. "So they come to an isolated community, a neglected community, and offer jobs, and people buy it."

Bioculture Vice President Moses Mark Bushmitz said some groups are just trying to stir up panic. It happens at all new facilities.

The Guayama facility is one of many already inside the United States, he said, where about 70,000 research monkeys were used in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The company assures people in Carmen and all of the Guayama district that its monkeys can't escape multiple levels of security.

"You have monkeys in MIT, you have monkeys in Harvard," Bushmitz said. "So why isn't it an issue if the monkey will escape in Harvard, but it is an issue if a monkey will escape in Carmen?"

Bushmitz called the protesters a small minority.

"This area was neglected for so many years," he said. "The people here have no chance. The young guys have no work."

But Carla Cappalli, a spokeswoman for the local PETA chapter, says opponents will keep fighting, no matter what the judge rules.

"This is going to be a long case," she said. "We're going to fight this to the end."

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