Polk Times

Congressman Scott Franklin has reintroduced the Big Cypress National Preserve Protection Act. The legislation aims to prevent the National Park Service (NPS) from managing or listing the Big Cypress National Preserve as a wilderness area. Although the Biden Administration announced an end to certain management practices at the Preserve, Franklin's bill seeks to ensure no future administration can implement similar measures.

“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," said Congressman Scott 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.”

A wilderness designation imposes strict protections, prohibiting inhabitants, permanent structures, and motorized vehicles. These restrictions could impede access for the Miccosukee Tribe to sacred sites, hinder hunters controlling invasive species like pythons, and limit access for local Gladesmen.

In response to development threats in the 1960s, Congress authorized Big Cypress as a national preserve in 1974. Initially deemed unsuitable for wilderness designation in 1979, NPS later revisited this assessment, proposing new management options without congressional consent until November 2024.

Last year, Franklin led efforts against federal overreach with support from several Florida representatives and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). In April 2024, they urged Interior Secretary Haaland to halt proposed wilderness designations. Subsequently, Franklin introduced H.R. 8206 with Scott's Senate companion bill S.4267.

H.R. 8206 was discussed in a House Natural Resources committee hearing on June 27, 2024. Witnesses included Chairman Talbert Cypress of the Miccosukee Tribe and Joy Beasley from NPS. After pressure from Franklin and others, NPS decided not to proceed with wilderness designations or management without congressional approval by November 2024.

Original cosponsors of H.R. 8206 include Representatives Bilirakis (R-FL), Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Steube (R-FL), Webster (R-FL), Donalds (R-FL), Gimenez (R-FL), Luna (R-FL), Salazar (R-FL), Moskowitz (D-FL), Mast (R-FL), Cammack (R-FL), and Lee (R-FL). Senator Rick Scott has also reintroduced related legislation in the Senate as S.446.