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Annual 60-Day ORV Closure for Wheeled Vehicles
Beginning at 12:01 am Monday, June 3, the annual 60-day recreational ORV closure for all units of the Preserve that allow for wheeled ORV access will begin. The closure will be lifted on Friday, August 2. More »
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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 »
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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 »
Preserve Related Closure Information
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Contact: Bob DeGross, 239-695-1107
Effective 4:30 pm on May 21, 2009 the ban on open fires in the backcountry is rescinded and the Bear Island Unit including Bear Island Campground are reopened for public recreational use. Beginning on Monday, June 1, 2009 all units within the Preserve that allow for wheeled Off-road Vehicle (ORV) access will be closed for 60 days with access being re-opened on Friday, July 31, 2009. As of Monday March 23, 2009 the Zone 4 airboat access within Big Cypress National Preserve has been closed due to low water conditions. The unit will remain closed for the mandatory 60 days or as soon as water levels allow the area to be opened following the 60 day closure. Due to continued low water levels the unit remains closed until further notice. The Recreational Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan calls for a sixty-day seasonal closure to allow a period free from resource pressures related to ORV use. The off-road vehicle closure within Big Cypress National Preserve was first instituted in 2002. Landowners that hold special use permits to access their private properties within the Preserve will retain continued access to their property along approved routes. Zone 4 of the Stairsteps Unit of the Preserve allows for access via airboats only. The Bear Island, Turner River and Corn Dance Units, and Zones 2 and 3 of the Stairsteps Unit provide for access by specified, wheeled ORVs. For more information on other Preserve closures click here. |
Did You Know?
The purple galinule though one of the most colorful birds in Big Cypress, is often well camouflaged. Look carefully along canal edges and gator holes for this beautiful bird. Many of the surrounding colors blend well with the birds feathers.