 In a March 2008 study by its International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF), the U.S. Department of Agriculture classified Toro Negro State Forest as a Commonwealth of Puerto Rico forest of "Status 2", s status it defines as "an area having permanent protection from conversion of natural land cover and a mandated management plan in operation to maintain a primarily natural state, but which may receive use or management practices that degrade the quality of existing natural communities".As of 2013, there were ongoing governmental initiatives in place to acquire, from private owners, additional lands adjacent to the Toro Negro State Forest to increase the protected area of the forest as well as to create a wildlife forest corridor that would join Toro Negro with the nearby Tres Picachos and Guilarte state forests through plans such as the federal Forest Legacy Areas initiative.Toro Negro is located in the central mountainous region of Puerto Rico and it has a total area of .