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BREAKING NEWS

 

IN FOCUS

Lawsuit Filed to Protect Big Cypress and Florida Panthers From Off-road Vehicles

FORT MYERS, Fla.— In an effort to reduce damaging off-road vehicle use in Big Cypress National Preserve, conservation groups filed a lawsuit today against the National Park Service for failing to protect Florida panthers and other imperiled species. The suit asserts that the Park Service violated the Endangered Species Act as well as the preserve's own Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan by designating hundreds of miles of new trails for off-road vehicle use across two units of the preserve.  

“Big Cypress is prime habitat for the Florida panther, and protection of big open spaces where animals like panthers can roam undisturbed is the primary purpose of the preserve,” said Jaclyn Lopez, a Florida attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “As Floridians, we have an obligation to keep places like this protected for our wildlife.”

The 720,000 acre Big Cypress National Preserve, located just north of the Everglades National Park, was established by Congress as the first national preserve in our nation's history to protect the natural, scenic, hydrologic, floral, faunal and recreational values of the watershed, including panthers. To that end, Congress stressed that public use would come second to maintaining this fragile and unique natural landscape.

Read more.

Learn more about the Florida panther.

Contact: Jaclyn Lopez

 
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Media Contacts:
Mike Stark, Communications Director
mstark@biologicaldiversity.org, (520) 623-5252 ext. 315

Andy Parker, Media Specialist – Endangered Species
aparker@biologicaldiversity.org, (503) 284-6599

Patrick Sullivan, Media Specialist – Climate Change
psullivan@biologicaldiversity.org, (415) 632-5316

Russ McSpadden, Communications Associate – Media Photos
rmcspadden@biologicaldiversity.org

Banner photo © Paul S. Hamilton; Florida panther photo courtesy USFWS