Creation of the Preserve

Congress established the Big Cypress National Preserve in 1974 to protect the teeming biodiversity in the area and ensure a fresh water supply from its wetlands into the western half of the Florida Everglades. Big Cypress is one of the largest public land tracts in the east, comprising approximately 729,000 acres. Located in the midst of booming population in south Florida and encroaching development, Big Cypress is home to 30 wildlife and 60 plant species which are protected under federal or state law or international treaty, including the West Indian manatee, Cape Sable seaside sparrow, and the critically endangered Florida panther.

Regulation of Off-Road Vehicle Use in Big Cypress

The Big Cypress Establishment Act requires the Preserve to be managed as part of the National Park System. As a result, the Preserve must be managed to achieve the fundamental purpose of the National Park Service Organic Act which requires the agency to "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein . . . by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Some of the 23,000 miles of unauthorized swamp buggy tracks that scar Big Cypress.

Furthermore, it required the National Park Service to treat the conservation of natural resources as its foremost priority, placing "the preservation, conservation and protection of the natural, scenic, hydrologic, floral and faunal" values above "recreational" values, including off-road vehicle use. Thus, Congress intended that the National Park Service allow off-road vehicle use in Big Cypress only to the extent compatible with conservation and protection of the Preserve’s natural values.

When Congress approved the "Big Cypress National Preserve Addition" in 1988 (adding 146,000 acres to the Preserve), it expressly required the Park Service to manage the Addition Lands. Congress noted that management should "enhance the protection of Everglades National Park which is dependent on the natural flow of water through Big Cypress for its ecological health" and to "protect a number of endangered species which are present in the area -- most importantly, the Florida panther which is in serious danger of extinction . . .."

Environmental Impacts of Off-Road Vehicles

Despite these clear directives, for over 25 years swamp buggies and other off-road vehicles have run roughshod over the wetland soils of Big Cypress. Today, there are approximately 23,000 miles of unauthorized swamp buggies and other off-road vehicle routes in the Preserve -- almost enough to circle the earth.

The impacts of off-road vehicle abuse are widespread in Big Cypress resulting in behavioral changes in Florida panthers and other wildlife. Moreover, this abuse also alters natural water flows, kills vegetation and contributes to soil erosion.

Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan

In the early 1990s, the Florida Biodiversity Project brought legal action against the Park Service to control off-road vehicle use in the Preserve. In 1999, the Service developed a draft off-road vehicle management plan that did not comply with several environmental regulations. In fall 2000, a revised off-road vehicle management plan was finalized. In the plan, the Service finally acknowledged the extensive ecological damage that off-road vehicles have inflicted on resources within Big Cypress.

The management plan authorizes 400 miles of primary routes and 15 access points for off-road vehicles in the Preserve. Damage to the Preserve still warrants further protection, however.

Management Plan Challenged

After the management plan was approved to protect Big Cypress, the off-road vehicle community sued the Park Service in an effort to block it. The Department of Interior and the industry engaged in closed-door settlement negotiations throughout much of 2001. However, in an unexpected yet positive development, the Department ended negotiations on January 11, 2002. Secretary of Interior Gale Norton deserves credit for resisting a settlement that would weaken the management plan, jeopardize the critically endangered Florida panther, and undermine efforts to protect the larger Everglades ecosystem. While stopping settlement talks is a step in the right direction, the Department must now aggressively defend the plan in court and provide Preserve staff with the resources necessary to begin to implement it.

Court Decision Pending

Oral arguments were held on July 10, 2002 in federal district court in Fort Myers, Florida regarding the case brought by the off-road vehicle community to reverse the protective Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan that will limit off-road vehicle use to the Preserve. The Department of Interior strongly supports the proposed off-road vehicle plan that limits swamp buggies and other vehicles to 400 miles of designated routes. The Florida Biodiversity Project, Wilderness Society, National Parks Conservation Association and other conservation organizations joined the U.S. Department of Justice in defending the Park Service action.

There is no information regarding how or when the court will make their ruling, however, the magistrate will write a recommended decision for approval by a federal district judge.

Read media coverage on Big Cypress

Other Action: The Advisory Committee

As part of the Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan implementation process, an Advisory Committee, made up of various members of the community, experts, and officials must be created. So far, this has proven to be a difficult task because a balanced list of members was changed to contain more off-road vehicle interests. Read the press release, letter regarding wrong-doing on the part of the National Park Service to determine the members of the Advisory Committee, and the corresponding article in the Naples News.

The Addition Lands

The Park Service is developing a management plan for the Additions Lands -- 146,000 acres that were added to the Preserve in 1988. The Addition Lands make up 20 percent of the preserve and are designated as critical habitat for the endangered Florida panther. A majority of the Addition Lands has been protected from human encroachment; however, based on the devastating impacts of swamp buggies on most of the Preserve, the Addition Lands should be managed over the long-term to protect this critical component of the Everglades ecosystem.

The off-road vehicle community is looking to gain unfettered use of this protected area. The draft management plan of these lands could be completed by the winter 2003.

For more information contact:

Brian Scherf, Florida Biodiversity Project, (954) 922-5828.
Kristen Brengel, Natural Trails and Waters Coalition, (202) 429-2694