Location: 45 mi (72 km) West of Miami Map
Area: 2,500 sq mi (6,216 sq km)
Average rainfall: 60 in (152 cm)
There are no entrance fees. An annual ORV permit, displayed on the inspected vehicle, is required for ORV operation along preserve trails ($50 in 2006). The permit can be obtained at the Oasis Visitor Center.
Big Cypress National Reserve is a national reserve located in Florida, United States, about 72 km west of Miami. It covers an area of 2,500 sq mi (6,216 sq km). Big Cypress borders the wet meadows of Everglades National Park to the south, and other federal and state protected areas of Florida to the west. The waters of the Big Cypress Swamp flow south and west to the coastal area of the Ten Thousand Islands area of the Everglades Park. Initially, the area was to be part of the Everglades Park when it was created in 1947, which could not be achieved. But since it was not bought by private owners, a park was established in 1974. The reserve is of great biological diversity. Dominated by a humid cypress forest, it is home to a very rich flora and fauna: mangroves, alligators, venomous snakes (eastern rattlesnake, ancistrodon ...), otters, lynx, coyotes, black bears, Florida panthers, and countless bird species, some endangered as Florida's rare antigone crane.
Oasis Visitor Center, US Route 41, 80 mi (130 km) west of Miami and 50 miles east of Naples. Daily 9AM-4:30PM except Christmas (Off-Road Vehicle Permit Office, 9AM-3:30PM). ORV inspections are conducted Friday through Monday. The visitor center offers exhibits related to the natural and cultural history of the preserve, educational materials and an introductory film to the preserve, its resources and recreational opportunities. Staff is available to assist visitors with information about activities.
Big Cypress is bordered by the wet freshwater meadows of Everglades National Park to the south and other protected areas in the county to the west; the waters that flow southwestward from Big Cypress to the Ten Thousand Islands region of the Everglades. When Everglades National Park was established in 1947, Big Cypress was supposed to join it, but because a sale from its then-owner did not materialize, Big Cypress was not included in the park system.
Ecologically, the reservation is slightly higher than the western
Everglades, and Big Cypress has historically been home to Indian tribes
such as the Miccosukee and Seminole. another presence was that of heron
hunters, who supplied feathers to hat makers in New York and Paris, and
poachers who hunted alligators and crocodiles. The logging industry also
operated in the area, building railroads to transport cypress trees out
of the forest. A portion of Big Cypress has also been grown to provide
winter greens.
Oil exploration in Florida began in 1901, without
success. After more than 80 wells were drilled in the state, Humble Oil,
which later became Exxon, discovered the first well capable of
extracting oil on September 26, 1943 in the northwestern area of the
present reservation. The well produces 20 barrels of oil per day.
The differences between Big Cypress and Everglades National Park are
in the right of the Miccosukee and Seminole people to permanently occupy
and use the land, in the use of off-road vehicles by Indians and
hunters, and in the recognition of ownership by owners of homes and
businesses economical. As in the Everglades, Big Cypress is also
permitted for oil exploration, but plans are under consideration to
repurchase previously granted licenses.
In the 1960s, Indians,
hunters and conservationists succeeded in blocking the relocation of
international flights from Miami International Airport to a new airport
in the Big Cypress area, fighting to bring Big Cypress back into the
National Parks System. Although construction on the new airport had
already begun, it was stopped after the construction of a runway, and is
now known as Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.
The reserve is the most biodiverse region of the terrestrial portion of the Everglades. In the coastal strip of the reserve, mangroves predominate, but otherwise the area is dominated by a humid cypress forest, in whose undergrowth ferns and aquatic plants abound; a notable variety of epiphytic plants develops on the branches of the trees, mainly Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae; among the latter, the ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) and the multicolored Cyrtopodium punctatum deserve mention.
Inside the reserve there are alligators, venomous snakes such as the
water moccasin, the Drymarchon couperi and the eastern diamondback
rattlesnake, a variety of birds, the puma (Puma concolor couguar) and
the American black bear.
The reserve is also home to several
endangered species, including the Caribbean manatee and the Canadian
crane.
There are twelve campsites at Big Cypress to allow visitors who plan
to spend the night on the preserve to park their vehicles. The reserve
is the southern end of the Florida National Scenic Trail, and allows for
hiking during the winter months. The Big Cypress cypress forest is also
more hospitable to those wishing to wade through the swamp than the
dense sedge prairie of the Everglades. The most interesting routes and
fords are found between the Loop Road and the Tamiami Trail. Due to the
presence of alligators, crossing fords requires particular attention.
You can take advantage of privately organized excursions, such as those
organized by photographer Clyde Butcher.
At the reserve's visitor
center there is a video about the surroundings and the rangers often
organize excursions in the dry winter crops, as well as canoe and
bicycle trips.