Last Chance - Protect Wilderness and Panther Habitat in South Florida!

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Tuesday evening, September 22nd, first ever National Park Service Wilderness Hearing for Broward County! Read below...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?77950662-1t0DVxwBzqmhU%404602690-tby78JHbhzEOAIn response to a joint letter from these Broward County environmental organizations:Broward SierraBroward AudubonBroward Chapter of the Florida Trail Association (Happy Hoofers)South Florida Amateur Astronomers AssociationGreen League of Broward CountyBroward County Environmental Meetup GroupBroward County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant SocietyMosaic Outdoor ClubSouth Florida Kayaking Meetup GroupFlorida Biodiversity Projectthe

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?77950662-U9PEFhjedPiOU%404602691-8mBFuw5E3pSsEEasy

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?77950662-2bOXuad6MjjFw%404602692-59qYNxw7kCctUWe

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 SUMMARIZEDThe

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?77950662-jZA.LKTqIqnE.%404602693-RtM0l8vf8Vi1IFor

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?77950662-EpQMSYx93zY1M%404602694-gDHeL/aX7TCVwIn

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

comeagain.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?77950662-1VqVDTIVFpgoQ%404602690-HTQC.7/pgo0RgAs always, thanks for all your help,Matthew SchwartzEverglades Chair and Outings LeaderBroward Group of the Sierra ClubChairSierra Club Sub-Committee on National Parks and Wilderness