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2500 BCE
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Glades People move into South Florida |
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1513
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Spanish explorer Juan Ponce De Leon makes first contact with American Indians in Florida |
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1819
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Spain cedes Florida territory to the US for $5 million |
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1845
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Florida becomes the 27th US state |
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1916
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Organic Act establishing the National Park Service is enacted by Congress |
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1918
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US-41 (Tamiami Trail) breaks ground connecting East and West Florida |
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1921
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Town of Pinecrest, along Loop Road breaks ground with plans of it being the "next Miami," but never fully realized |
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1928
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On April 26, US-41 officially opened |
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1928
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Ernest F. Coe drafted a proposal to Senator Duncan Fletcher, and Congresswoman Ruth Bryan Owen introduced legislation for Everglades National Park, which included today's Big Cypress National Preserve |
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1936
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Located at today's Monument Lake Campground, a Seminole conference, attended by approximately 275 Seminole Indians, Florida governor and other dignitaries met to discuss how the federal government could assist during the Great Depression, which they declined and asked to be left alone |
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1940s-1950s
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The land within the national preserve's boundaries was heavily logged for its durable and rot-resistant cypress wood to be used for everything from the hulls of military vessels to bridges and railroad ties. |
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1947
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Marjorie Stoneman Douglas publishes Everglades: River of Grass, advocating for Everglades preservation |
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1947
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Everglades National Park is established, minus the land comprised of today's Big Cypress National Preserve |
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1968
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Everglades jetport breaks ground with plans of being the largest international airport in the world |
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1969
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Leopold-Marshall Report officially released regarding the environmental impacts of the Everglades Jetport. Construction was subsequently halted after the first of six runways was completed, in 1970. |
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1970
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Environmentalist Nathaniel Reed, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and others advocate for establishment of Big Cypress National Preserve |
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1971
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On November 23, President Richard Nixon releases a statement proposing the federal acquisition of the Big Cypress Swamp for a national reserve |
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1973
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Big Cypress Conservation Act (Florida Statute 380.055) is passed by the House and Senate |
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1974
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Congress passed bill and sent it to President Richard Nixon, authorizing the federal government to purchase Big Cypress National Preserve for $150 million. |
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1974
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October 11, Big Cypress National Preserve is Established (Public Law 93-440), becoming America's first national preserve, through the leadership of President Gerald Ford |
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1988
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Big Cypress National Preserve Addition Act (Public Law 100-301), adding roughly 146,000 acres to the national preserve |
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1991
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General Management Plan for the "original preserve" Final. |
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2000
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Comprehensive Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan implemented |
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2002
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Long Range Interpretive Plan implemented |
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2010
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Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center dedicated |
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2010
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Cooperative Partnership Agreement between Big Cypress National Preserve and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission finalized. |
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2011
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General Management Plan for the "addition" Final. |
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2014
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On September 12, Wilderness Eligibility Assessment initiated for Big Cypress National Preserve General Management Plan for the "addition." |
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2014
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On October 5, Big Cypress National Preserve celebrates its 40th birthday (October 11, 1974). |
