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	Record Group Number:	900000
	Series/Collection Number:	N2019- 9
	Creator:	Schwartz, Matthew
	Title, Dates:	Big Cypress National Preserve legal records, 1992-2010.
	Amount:	11 cubic ft.
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	Organization/Arrangement:	Unarranged.
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	Biographical/Historical:	The Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida is the nation's first national preserve, established in 1974 after years of public backlash against plans for a jetport to be constructed in the Big Cypress Swamp. The national preserve concept ensured that the area would be federally protected but would also allow for specific activities such as hunting, oil and gas extraction, operation of off-road vehicles, private land ownership, traditional use by Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes and cattle grazing. The balance of recreation and preservation has been a contentious issue almost since the preserve's inception. Litigation related to the environmental impact of ORV trails throughout the preserve began in 1995 when the Florida Biodiversity Project and several Federal conservation agencies alleged that the National Park Service failed to comply with the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. As part of the lawsuit settlement, the Park Service created its Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan in 2000 that provided guidelines for the Park Service's management of recreational off-road vehicle use in Big Cypress and aimed to reduce the designated ORV trails from approximately 23,000 miles to 400 miles. In 2007, the Park Service faced another lawsuit when it re-opened and extended ORV trails in the Bear Island Unit of the preserve, and conservation organizations alleged that the Park Service violated Federal statutes as well as its own ORV management plan by doing so. Because of this suit, the Park Service closed the Bear Island Unit trails.
	Summary:	This collection contains records created and maintained by a public interest law firm during its involvement in and research for the two cases against the National Park Service. The records document the creation and management of Big Cypress National Preserve and the Park Service's regulations regarding off-road vehicles, particularly the environmental concerns, legal actions and decisions expressed in court. The types of records include court documents such as transcripts of proceedings, petitions, affidavits and exhibits; background research materials including South Florida ecosystems and wildlife, federal legislation that created the preserve, and the environmental impacts of ORVs; and the administrative record with supplemental documents used in the litigation. This collection also includes some materials related to a proposed boat ramp in Goodbys Creek and its potential effect on the local manatee population.
	Finding Aids:	Folder listing available. 0
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	Subject Access Fields:	Environmental management Florida. Environmental policy Florida Environmental science. Recreation Florida. Wildlife conservation Florida Wildlife habitat improvement Florida Wildlife-related recreation Florida. Electronic records (digital records). aat Judicial records. aat Machine-readable artifacts. aat Photographs. aat Reports. aat Big Cypress National Preserve (Fla.)
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