In the early 1500's of the Spanish invasion in Puerto Rico, the mountain streams of El Yunque and other rivers on the island were panned for gold. After the gold supply ran out in 1876 the king of Spain Alfonso 12 decreased the El Yunque rain forest a nature reserve.
In 1898 the U.S. invaded Puerto Rico and the island became U.S. territory in the "Treaty of Paris".
In 1903, the forest was proclaimed The Luquillo Forest Reserve by Prisident Roosevelt and became the only Rain Forest within the U.S. National Forest System.
In 1935 was renamed Caribbean National Forest and is the only Puerto Rican Forest administered by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service. In 1976 The "El Yunque" was desingnated as a Biosphere Reserve.
On April 2007, an Excecutive Order singed by George W. Buch changed the name of the Caribbean National Forest to El Yunque National Forest.
