Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 4:34 PM
Dear Outdoor Enthusiasts:
Big Cypress National Preserve is formulating a plan for use of the Addition Lands, which lie only 30 minutes west of Broward County
near I-75. Mosaic camps and hikes there regularly.
Last month Mosaic signed a letter asking Big Cypress to hold a public meeting in our area, in order to hear from the people who use
the area. The park has agreed to that meeting.
The meeting is scheduled for this Tuesday, September 22, at the Hyatt Regency in Bonaventure, 250 Racquet Club Rd, Bonaventure, FL
954-616-1234.
Public comments will be heard from 4:00 pm until at least 7:30 pm, but everyone who arrives during that time will have a chance to
be heard. You DO NOT have to come for the entire time.
We encourage anyone with an interest in the future of the Everglades ecosystem, and the surrounding public lands, to attend the
meeting and voice their opinion. Mosaic members will attempt to sit together at the meeting. Mosaic VP Rick Dronsky will likely be
there the entire time, so look for him at the meeting to find the group.
Mark your calendars. See ya there.
Mosaic Outdoor Club of South Florida
For more info, see letter below from Matt Schwartz of Broward Sierra Club.
Dear Friends,
About a month ago, we wrote on this list about public meetings in south Florida on the 146,000 acre Big Cypress National Preserve
Addition Lands. Today we have great news for those who live next door to these lands - or those who missed previous meetings in
Miami, Naples or Everglades City. But please continue reading whether you live in south Florida or not. Big Cypress is a NATIONAL
PRESERVE - a unit of the National Park Service (NPS) managed for the benefit of all Americans. It is also quite likely the most
biodiverse piece of land remaining in the continental United States. A very special part of that land is now under threat from the
very agency whose mission statement, written into law in the Organic Act of 1916, is to protect it 'unimpaired for the enjoyment of
future generations'. Comments can be submitted until midnight, September 30th, at the following National Park Service website:
http://m1e.net/c?70089035-zSNXYqyxXfpYo%404602690-DdkWOBe..bli%2e
In response to a joint letter from these Broward County environmental organizations:
Broward Sierra
Broward Audubon
Broward Chapter of the Florida Trail Association (Happy Hoofers)
South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association
Green League of Broward County
Broward County Environmental Meetup Group
Broward County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society
Mosaic Outdoor Club
South Florida Kayaking Meetup Group
Florida Biodiversity Project
the National Park Service has decided to hold a fourth and final public meeting in Broward County. A big hand is due the leadership
of these ten community organizations and the many thousands of members they represent. It was a great example of democracy in
action.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 22nd, from 4 to 7:30 PM (or until the last speaker has finished). Location is the
Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Conference Center, 250 Racquet Club Road, Weston, Florida 33326. Phone number is 954-616-1234.
A map is here:
http://m1e.net/c?70089035-wvf7sk2D8zaDA%404602691-e2qqXHSxTAGTM
Easy directions - take I-595 to 136th Ave. You'll exit onto State Road 84. Stay on 84 (westbound) until Bonaventure Blvd (go
across 136th Ave. and Weston Rd). At Bonaventure, take a left under the highway and then a right turn onto Racquet Club Road. The
hotel is on the left - ample public parking is on the right.
A road map showing the location of the Addition Lands (northeast section of the Big Cypress National Preserve) is here:
http://m1e.net/c?70089035-/FPviZsoWpKXY%404602692-NWJGfiU6Oof.g
We realize it's a work night - come when you can. As long as comments are being given, you will be allowed to sign up to speak.
Please be respectful of all points of view whether speaking or listening - this is not a meeting on health care or the floor of the
U.S. House of Representatives.
The meeting will be divided in two parts with a break in between. The first portion will deal with the National Park Service's
draft plan for the Addition Lands (the Sierra Club supports Alternative F - no motorized recreation in the Addition Lands), while
the second half will be a formal wilderness hearing on the possible entry of over 100,000 acres of south Florida habitat into the
National Wilderness Preservation System (the Sierra Club supports the designation of wilderness for all 109,000 acres that NPS has
judged to be 'wilderness eligible'). According to the Wilderness Act of 1964:
"A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area
where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."
Lands receiving this level of protection have the highest safeguards against ecological impairment. While allowing for many human
activities and public enjoyment, uses such as motorized recreation, commercial concessions, and development of any kind are strictly
off-limits. Wilderness designation would not prevent the NPS from providing normal maintenance activities.
THE ARGUMENT SUMMARIZED
The bulk of the Addition Lands were acquired by the public in 1996 through an exchange of federal land in Arizona. The Collier
Center in downtown Phoenix now sits on that property while the American people received an incredible tapestry of marl prairie,
marshes, hardwood hammocks, pinelands, mangroves and cypress forest. Among the thousands of species of native Florida plants and
animals found here, at least 30 animals and 72 plants are listed as endangered, threatened or species of special concern. Among
these is Florida's own state animal - the critically endangered Florida panther. As a result of hunting and habitat loss throughout
its original range, scientists estimate only about 80 to 100 panthers now remain. The Addition Lands represents one of the most
important undisturbed habitats the panther has left - quite possibly the most important due to its relatively large size, vegetative
cover and food supply. It literally lights up on panther telemetry maps.
This past July, the National Park Service produced a draft plan for the Addition Lands which will direct its management for decades.
They have proposed opening up these lands to 140 miles of off-road vehicle (ORV) trails for motorized hunting on swamp buggies and
ATVs - plus an unspecified number of 'secondary ORV trails'. The photo below shows the effects of motorized recreation on a trail
re-opened in 2007 in Bear Island - just west of the Addition Lands:
http://m1e.net/c?70089035-fc2XAl0UBvmfM%404602693-5xG0.H228fe9w
For more information on the Bear Island trails and the lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club and six other environmental organizations'
see the following website:
http://m1e.net/c?70089035-sMR8a3KB7hmfM%404602694-uwZTGvqunfAlU
In addition to damage to soils and plants, the spread of invasive species throughout the preserve and changes in hydrology due to
tire ruts that can dig several feet into the fragile wetland soils, the NPS plan couldn't be worse for the Florida panther. As we
have noted previously, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and virtually all other government agencies are pessimistic about the
future of the only big cat left in the eastern United States. If implemented, the NPS plan is guaranteed to reduce the main prey
species (white tailed deer and feral hogs) which currently sustain a healthy panther population.
At least three scientific studies have shown that panthers reduce their use of areas within the preserve during periods of motorized
hunting. The last study by M.W. Janis and J.D. Clark (organized and paid for by the NPS and later published by the Journal of
Wildlife Management) utilized years of panther data and was conducted in Bear Island right next door to the Addition. This study
found that during times of motorized hunting, panthers decreased their use of the area by up to 40 percent.
With no new habitat to move to, with the planned construction of new towns such as one ironically named 'Big Cypress' just outside
the preserve on existing panther habitat, and with panther roadkill now in the double digits annually, this NPS plan is a serious
threat to the panther's future. For those who drive a vehicle in Florida with the popular 'Protect the Panther' license plate on
it, now would be an excellent time to weigh in!
It should also be noted that the Big Cypress Addition Lands is only a short drive from the most densely populated sections of
Florida. The land is already completely accessible on foot by anyone willing to get their shoes a bit wet. Rather than
opening up this land to the damaging effects of motorized recreation, we believe the National Park Service should be concentrating
on protecting one of Florida's most important and unique natural habitats - as well as providing a legacy for its children. The
once vast Big Cypress Swamp once rivaled the Everglades in size and extent. Much of the original swamp has been lost to agriculture
and development and most of the preserve is already open to off-road vehicle use. The preservation of this one sizeable remnant
where Florida's children can experience and learn about the incredible natural and cultural history of our region - in addition to
learning self-reliance in a wilderness setting - is an opportunity that will not come
again.
Let's take advantage of this last chance to speak out for south Florida wilderness before the NPS' final decision in 2010.
If you cannot attend the Weston meeting - and we realize many of you receiving this message may not be able to - please try to get
some comments in to the NPS website here. Again, deadline for written comments is September 30th.
http://m1e.net/c?70089035-PZdhH4A/pbj5I%404602690-K4zhPFSys3qbw
As always, thanks for all your help,
Matthew Schwartz
Everglades Chair and Outings Leader
Broward Group of the Sierra Club
Chair
Sierra Club Sub-Committee on National Parks and Wilderness
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