February 23, 2005 (Washington, DC) - Yesterday, United States District Judge John Steele ruled in favor of a National Park Service plan that protects Big Cypress National Preserve, one of the wildest areas in America teeming with cypress strands, hardwood swamps, and mangroves where rare Florida panthers still reside. In its plan, the National Park Service acknowledged the devastation caused by rampant off-road vehicle use in Big Cypress--over 23,000 miles of swamp buggy ruts that shredded this special area. Judge Steele ruled that the plan was adopted in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and other requirements of federal law.
We welcome this decision as a victory for sensible, balanced use of our public lands, said Brian Scherf with the Florida Biodiversity Project and a Sierra Club volunteer, who, with his wife, led the effort to protect Big Cypress. Big Cypress had become a poster child for the devastating impacts of out-of-control ORVs, and this management plan will help correct this abuse and protect this spectacular place.
The National Park Service must continue the healing of Big Cypress, said Don Barry, executive vice president at The Wilderness Society and a former assistant secretary at the Interior Department. Judge Steele's ruling confirms the Park Service's decision to rein in widespread swamp buggy damage in favor of protecting this national treasure. Now, Florida's wild panthers, alligators, rare birds, and other creatures will have added protection for Americans to appreciate and enjoy in the future.
Big Cypress's management plan will implement a 400-mile designated trail system for off-road vehicles, designated access points, and nighttime and seasonal closures. Previously, off-road vehicles were allowed to enter and travel much of the preserve, which has resulted in extreme damage to the preserve's fragile biodiversity and wetlands ecosystem.
Florida s human population is surging, and that is precisely why it s so important to have basic protections in place for wildlife in protected areas such as Big Cypress National Preserve, adds Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. This court ruling helps in restoring balance in Big Cypress and to limiting recreational uses such as sport hunting so that they do not cause lasting damage to panthers and other imperiled wildlife.
While the organizations are very pleased with the decision, the Park Service must still assure that the management plan is fully implemented. This will require the Park Service to request adequate funding from the Department of Interior and Congress to implement the plan's trail system and protections, carry out necessary research projects, monitor impacts, educate the public, and enforce the terms of the plan vigorously.
The Park Service did the right thing when it protected Big Cypress from out of control off-road vehicle use, said Sean Smith, Bluewater Network s public lands director. This ruling should be the end of the road for efforts to turn the preserve into a motorized playground.
The Wilderness Society, Humane Society of the United States, Sierra Club, Florida Biodiversity Project, and Bluewater Network were intervenors represented by Eric Glitzenstein of the Washington, D.C. public interest law firm of Meyer & Glitzenststein, and environmental attorney Amy Atwood.
