News Release

Big Cypress National Preserve Seeks Public Input on Revised Plan to Restore Wetlands

Date: November 8, 2021
Contact: Joshua Boles, [phone]

Big Cypress National Preserve seeks public input on revised plan to restore wetlands

Public commenting runs Nov. 8 – Dec. 7

OCHOPEE, Fla. – The National Park Service (NPS) today opened a 30-day public comment period on a revised plan to restore wetlands damaged by exploratory oil and gas activity completed at Big Cypress National Preserve in 2018.

The Compensatory Mitigation Plan Revision to Burnett Oil Co., Inc’s Noble Grade 3-D Seismic Survey https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ModWSOF proposes updates to the original plan outlining how the company would compensate for the temporal loss of wetland functions due to its use of off-road vehicles (ORV) on nearly 111 miles or 201.82 acres of remote preserve land and ORV trails. Reclamation work was performed immediately after the survey’s completion, but a requirement for wetland mitigation remained. The original impacted trails now have mature, native, wetland vegetation, such as cypress trees, and habitat for some of the preserve’s most treasured resources. Getting access to and performing any work to restore soil contours in the original location would cause substantial impacts to these now fallow trails.

The preserve has identified approximately 272 acres of comparable, former agricultural land in the preserve’s Bear Island unit where Burnett Oil Co., Inc. has agreed to restore the natural water flow and native plant communities. The revised plan would require the company to regrade dikes, ditches and swales; remove invasive and nuisance plants; and plant native trees.

The proposed restoration activity would occur during the coming dry season, expected between January and May. Approximately 200 pounds of cypress seeds were collected, and saplings will be ready to plant at the onset of the 2022 rainy season, typically around May or June. The preserve would oversee monitoring efforts for 5 years beginning in 2022 to assess the success of restoration efforts.

The preserve is seeking public input on the proposed revisions through Dec. 7.

“Public commenting is a cornerstone of the National Environmental Policy Act process and an effective method for the public to be involved in management decisions on federal public lands,” said Tom Forsyth, superintendent for Big Cypress National Preserve. “We encourage public participation throughout our restoration efforts so that, together, we can make more informed decisions,”

Comments on the revised compensatory mitigation plan must be submitted in writing on the project’s planning site to be considered. Go to:

https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ModWSOF

Select “Open for Comment” on the left menu bar
Open the “RevisedCompensatoryMitigationP” folder
And click on the green “Comment Now” button to access the online commenting form.

For more information, visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ModWSOF.