Help Protect Florida Panther Habitat in Southwest Florida!
- by: South Florida Wildlands Association
- recipient: President Barack Obama
South Florida residents and visitors, as well as wildlife lovers everywhere, have been following the story of the Addition Lands of the Big Cypress National Preserve for some time. Described by the U.S. Congress as a place of "unique wild beauty" and as "habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals, including the Florida panther, the bald eagle, native orchids and many other species", the 146,000 acre Addition has also been a favorite getaway for many who live in this crowded part of the world.
All that is about to change. After 15 years of public meetings, newsletters and comment periods, the National Park Service (NPS) has decided that these fragile and completely unique lands will be opened to public motorized hunting and recreation in order to allow for a "diversity of users". According to the NPS itself, the price to be paid for that diversity will be compaction, rutting and oxidation of soils; destruction of surface vegetation and roots; spread of invasive plant species throughout the Addition; changes to the Addition's hydrology, wetlands and water quality; and disturbances and degraded habitat for red cockaded woodpeckers, Everglades snail kites, eastern indigo snakes, and the critically endangered Florida panther (23 of which were killed in in south Florida in 2010 - as habitat continues to shrink by about 1% per year).
Human visitors will also experience a very different landscape and soundscape as motor vehicles become a major part of a weekend outing. For many of the Addition's 31 animals and 96 plants listed as threatened, endangered, or species of special concern, the impacts are not known - or simply not considered by the National Park Service. In early January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sharply criticized this plan as likely to lead to an increase in both water and air pollution and strongly advised the NPS to choose a plan that does not include motorized recreation.
The National Park Service decision was released just before Thanksgiving and made official on Februaly 4th, 2011 with the signatures of Pedro Ramos, Superintendent of the Big Cypress National Preserve, and David Vela, Southeast Regional Director of the National Park Service. Please take a moment to sign this petition and send a message to President Barack Obama. We are asking the President to reconsider this very bad decision and instead ask the NPS (a division of the Department of the Interior under the executive branch of the federal government) to choose a management plan which will protect these special lands for generations to come. Most of the 582,000 acres of the original preserve are already motorized (and show the scars - see photo). They provide ample opportunity for those who desire motor vehicles as a way of experiencing the Big Cypress. It is completely unnecessary to bring this level of damage and degradation to the still pristine Addition Lands.
In addition to signing our petition, you can also contact the White House directly at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Telephone: 202-456-1111, Fax: 202-456-2461
The Addition Lands of the Big Cypress National Preserve are a national treasure. Acquired on behalf of the American people through the Big Cypress Addition Act of 1988, they are a place of incredible biodiversity, containing nearly the full range of plants and animals once found in abundance throughout south Florida.
According to research carried out by the National Park Service itself, the decision to open these lands to 130 miles of off-road vehicle (ORV) trails (plus 3 parking lots, a still to be determined number of secondary ORV trails, and an ORV accessible campground) will degrade the Addition's soils, plants, hydrology, wetlands, water quality, and animal habitat. Among the impacted wildlife are the critically endangered Florida panther as well as the white-tailed deer it feeds on. Many studies have shown that panthers move away from areas of human disturbance - and with habitat on private lands shrinking by the day, they have no place to relocate. Prey is already scarce for the Florida panther as evidenced by an upswing in predation on local livestock and backyard pets. An adult panther requires approximately one deer sized animal per week - the National Park Service believes it likely that Florida panthers and motorized hunters will actually be competing for the same limited food supply as a result of this decision.
The Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan for the original preserve states:
"...the preserve, as a unit of the National Park System, is to be managed in a manner that will ensure its 'natural and ecological integrity in perpetuity'...Thus the natural and ecological integrity of the preserve is the fundamental value that Congress directed the National Park Service to protect."
There is no requirement for the National Park Service to take this action. Other units of the preserve are already closed to motor vehicles for the purpose of resource protection. Choosing a management plan which protects the Addition Lands rather than degrading them - and allows visitors the opportunity to experience their beauty, tranquility, and biodiversity intact - is the directive which Congress has asked the National Park Service to follow.
We thank you for your time and hope that you reconsider this decision before the damage occurs.
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