Big Cypress National Preserve
A treasure beyond the trees and home to the Florida panther and ghost orchid
A treasure beyond the trees and home to the Florida panther and ghost orchid
Most people only see Big Cypress National Park through the windows of their car as they zip along I-75 or U.S. 41, a parallax of sawgrass and cypress trees against the billowy clouds of the Florida sky. Some even stop by the visitor center out of curiosity, but mostly only out of necessity.
In 1974, Congress established the Big Cypress National Preserve as a national preserve – not a national park – a distinction that allows traditional activities such as hunting and Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) use to continue within the preserve’s boundaries. With 729,000 acres, Big Cypress offers an enticing oasis for recreation and sport, but this land is also a key player in keeping the various natural water systems of South Florida balanced.
Big Cypress is a haven for Florida’s elusive, but endangered panther population, a homestead for the endangered American alligator and is only one of two places on Earth where the ghost orchid can be found. An official Dark Sky Place, Big Cypress is the first National Park Service unit east of Colorado to earn this designation and to this day still remains the southernmost Dark Sky Place in Florida – and in the US.
The swamp waters move gently through this national preserve, providing the perfect combination for the preserve’s namesake cypress trees to grow tall and strong, creating a maze beneath their canopy for the visitors who are more inclined toward aquatic adventures.
Big Cypress represents one of the last wild places in South Florida where swamp buggies, airboats, and backcountry camps preserve a traditional way of life established by native peoples and the pioneering spirit of early settlers. To say that Big Cypress has something for everyone would be an understatement, so now we are challenging everyone to offer something back to Big Cypress in return.
Swamp Water and Me Program
This impactful sixth grade curriculum-based program introduces public and private school students within Collier County to the Big Cypress swamp.
The program fosters an appreciation and promotes their understanding of the watershed’s role in the greater Everglades ecosystem. Students learn about the watershed, associated habitats, and understand the importance of the freshwater swamp to the estuary below.
The goals of the program are to provide students with hands-on, interdisciplinary, and curriculum-based field experience that aligns to Florida Sunshine State Standards; and to give students a clearer understanding of their connections and responsibilities to the natural world so that they may become better-informed citizens, community leaders, and stewards of the fragile and unique environment of South Florida.
Through our support, this program will enable the preserve to connect to underserved communities for first-time experiences in nature, hands-on interdisciplinary science and discovery, and gain Science Technology and Math (STEM) skills. The immersive and inquiry-based learning style of the program leads to lifelong transformational change, stewardship, and a new environmental ethic.
The program has a 25-year reputation leading the region in environmental education and serves over 2,600 students annually.
Python Tracking and Research
The Big Cypress python program focuses on field research to improve management tools for controlling Burmese pythons on the preserve.
This program uses a team of radio transmitted adult pythons, distributed throughout Big Cypress, to learn about their behavior in hopes of improving methods for removing them from the wild. This involves labor-intensive fieldwork that is centered around the python breeding season from December through March.
Some of the goals for the upcoming breeding season include: rebuilding and maintaining our team of radio transmitted male pythons, starting a team of radio transmitted female pythons and beginning field testing of a prototype trap design that is field packable.
Forest Recovery in South Florida
South Florida boasts extensive areas of recovering forests that were heavily logged in the 19th and 20th centuries, including bald cypress tracts in Big Cypress National Preserve. These areas have since been subject to numerous natural and anthropogenic disturbances, including fire and hurricane activity.
Importance of Prescribed Fires
Prescribed fires are an essential tool in maintaining and restoring these forested areas. Florida leads the nation in the use of prescribed fire as a controlled way to protect both natural and human communities. Prescribed burns help clear overgrowth that can fuel catastrophic wildfires, promote new growth, and support forest health and biodiversity.
South Florida Fire and Aviation
The South Florida Fire and Aviation (SFFA) program implemented over 231,000 acres of fuel treatments in 2023 alone. These prescribed fires aim to reduce hazardous fuels, protect federal infrastructure, and create resilient, fire-adapted habitats. Each fire is carefully planned to create a mosaic burn pattern, which helps manage the landscape more effectively and safely.
Why Prescribed Fires Matter
Hazard Reduction: By reducing the amount of combustible material, prescribed fires lower the risk of severe wildfires.
Ecosystem Health: Fire-adapted ecosystems rely on periodic fires to rejuvenate. These controlled burns help maintain the natural balance, encouraging the growth of native plants and the habitats they support.
Cultural and Historical Education: Information collected from these fires provides a historic framework that educates the public about past management practices and the importance of fire in maintaining healthy forests.
Volunteer Trail Patrol:
The Volunteer Trail Patrol was established in Big Cypress National Preserve in 1996 and took a break for several years. The Alliance, with the support of Yamaha, helped relaunch this project in 2023. This program offers training on off-road vehicles (ORVs), trail maintenance, and enhances the physical presence in the preserve by training volunteers to be a helping hand. Volunteers receive comprehensive training and have the opportunity to explore the backcountry, assisting with various tasks to support the maintenance and protection of the trails.
“I want people to get what Florida is all about, the relationship of the trees and the plants and sky and the water. It’s an emotional feeling of being primeval.”
— Clyde Butcher, famed photographer and Big Cypress enthusiast
