Polk Times

Congressman Scott Franklin has reintroduced the Big Cypress National Preserve Protection Act in an effort to prevent the National Park Service (NPS) from managing or listing the Big Cypress National Preserve as a wilderness area. This move comes after the Biden Administration ended certain management practices at the Preserve, and aims to block future administrations from similar actions.

"The Miccosukee Tribe and local Gladesmen who’ve properly managed the Preserve for generations understand how to protect the land better than any DC insider," stated Congressman Franklin. "This straightforward bill will curb overreach and ensure no future administration can repeat the Park Service’s harmful management practices at the Preserve. I thank my Florida colleagues for joining our effort to protect this important treasure."

The proposed wilderness designation would impose restrictions that could affect access for local communities, including blocking the Miccosukee Tribe's access to sacred sites and limiting hunters' ability to control invasive species like pythons.

In response to historical threats of development in the 1960s, conservationists, environmentalists, tribes, and Gladesmen successfully lobbied Congress to establish Big Cypress National Preserve in 1974. However, subsequent NPS studies have suggested managing portions of it as wilderness without congressional consent until November 2024.

Franklin's efforts last year included urging Interior Secretary Haaland and introducing legislation with Senator Rick Scott aimed at preventing federal wilderness designation. This culminated in a decision by NPS not to proceed with such designations.

The bill has garnered support from several Florida representatives as original cosponsors and is accompanied by Senate companion legislation introduced by Senator Rick Scott.