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Date: September 6, 2008

As Hurricane Ike approaches south Florida, Biscayne National Park institutes a temporary closure in accordance with its Hurricane Plan.

Effective 1:00 p.m. on Sunday September 7, 2008, all park facilities (including those on Boca Chita, Elliott and Adams Keys) and the mainland area at Convoy Point (9 miles east of Homestead), boat tours, and visitor services will be closed to the public. The Park waters will remain open for vessel transit. The closure will remain in effect until further notice.

After suffering severe damage from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the park implemented a detailed plan for adequately protecting life, and property, while at the same time taking into account employee's needs to prepare their own homes and families for impacts from approaching storms. The Hurricane Plan, which is updated annually and is flexible enough to be tailored to each pending storm, calls for preparations to begin well before potential landfall. These preparations include securing and shuttering all park buildings, moving the park's entire fleet of boats (over 20 vessels) out of the water and securing them out of harms way, posting closure signs throughout the park and providing updated information to the public via Biscayne's website (www.nps.gov/bisc) and the park's information line at 305-230-PARK (7275). The public should contact these information sources for ongoing updates on park operations.