• The Florida panther's watchful gaze- Courtesy- Ralph Arwood

    Big Cypress

    National Preserve Florida

There are park alerts in effect.
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  • Fire Activity

    Currently there is fire activity within the Preserve. More »

  • 2013 Zone 4 Closure

    Beginning at 12:01 am Monday, April 8, 2013, the Zone 4 airboat access within Big Cypress National Preserve will be closed due to low water conditions. More »

  • Interstate 75 Mile Marker 63 Closure

    Beginning summer of 2013 the rest area and backcountry access at mile marker 63 will be closed due to construction. More »

  • Campground Closures

    Beginning Monday, May 13 through Friday, August 16 camping will be available at the Midway Campground and the “loop” in the Bear Island Campground within Big Cypress National Preserve. All other established campgrounds will be closed. More »

Commercial Services Operator Training

Once a commercial operator receives a permit to operate at Big Cypress National Preserve, the owner and guides will be required to attend training provided by Big Cypress staff and others.

Training for operators consists of:

  • Two full days of training on-site at Big Cypress National Preserve - 1.25 days inside and .75 day field trip. Field trips will be specific to permitted activity
  • Operators will also be required to participate in three additional documented training opportunities throughout the year, to be selected from a list provided by the National Park Service to the operator.

Examples: Rookery Bay Ecotour operator workshops, Florida Master Naturalist Program, Big Cypress seasonal employee interpretation training, Big Cypress National Preserve invitational "Lunch and Learn" sessions, Preserve scheduled interpretive programs, Online opportunities, such as those provided on www.eppley.org

Other training opportunities not on the list can be submitted to Big Cypress for approval, but must be approved in advance, in order to be accepted to meet requirements for training. Our intention is to provide as many opportunities to get National Park Service approved training as possible, and providing it to as many commercial operator staff as possible.

The training is mandatory for the owners and managers of commercial operations, and since the operator will be required to provide training to meet NPS standards, we will try to "catch" the guides as they arrive for the season.

Did You Know?

An anhinga drying its wings.

The anhinga is a commonly seen bird in many areas of Big Cypress National Preserve, and other park areas in Florida. However, within the United States of America, the bird is never really seen beyond Florida. Anhingas cousins are more commonly seen in South America and Africa.