Born
and raised in the city of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Pablo Cruz Morales
is
a graduate from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus Civil
Engineering Program. Since his graduation Pablo has dedicated his
entire
career to public service.
He began his professional work at the age of 23 as Project Engineer
in the USDA Soil Conservation Service. Six months later, he joined
the
USDA Forest Service as a Civil Engineer. Following the Forest Service
tradition, Pablo and his lovely wife Arlene have gone through many
transitions:
from Puerto Rico to Oregon, from Oregon to California, from California
to Puerto Rico, from Puerto Rico to Washington DC, and from Washington
DC back to Puerto Rico.
His superior performance, expertise and knowledge about the agency
and forest management led to his assignment to Puerto Rico in September,
1989. He came as part of the Incident Command Team that led the Forest
restoration efforts after Hurricane Hugo.
A few months later, in 1990, he became the first Puerto Rican District
Ranger of El Yunque Ranger District under the El Yunque National Forest.
Just two years later, in 1992, he was appointed Forest Supervisor
of the El Yunque National Forest. He established direct communication
between
the Forest and communities surrounding the Forest. His leadership
has greatly improved the Forest's relationships with state and federal
agencies
and increased the Forest's exposure to our local and international
customers.
Pablo Cruz was born on August 24, 1955. He has enjoyed 24 years of
happy marriage with Arlene Pou. Two sons, Pablo Jr. and Andres, complete
the
family that in his opinion is his life's greatest achievement.