Cumulative Effects Analysis: Tamiami Trail Welcome Center

National Park Service

The National Park Service (NPS) is considering constructing the Tamiami Trail Welcome Center located on Highway 41near the west entrance to Big Cypress National Preserve (Preserve), Collier County, Florida. Funding for this project has been provided by the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21). The purpose of the Welcome Center is to provide visitors with an orientation to the visitor services and amenities of the public lands of South Florida, including opportunities within the Preserve as well as Everglades National Park, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, and other regional destinations. This action is needed because Big Cypress National Preserve has not established a strong identity with the public. Visitors entering the Preserve from the west encounter little opportunity to obtain information about the Preserve and other public lands or benefit from any interpretation until they reach the Big Cypress Visitor Center at Oasis, 23 miles farther east. By that time, visitors have already passed some of the most attractive views and experiences the Preserve has to offer. There is also a need to provide visitors with an orientation to visitor services and amenities on all public lands of South Florida. This is especially important in light of the fact that 75% of all visitors to Big Cypress are from out of state (Meehan 1999). Data available from the NPS indicates a steadily increasing trend of recreational visitors to Big Cypress from 1989 to 2000. However, in 2001 and 2002 there was a decrease in visits, possibly due to the events of September 11, 2001. Few services are currently provided for the general public in the Preserve. Means of public access into the backcountry are limited, and there are few opportunities for general visitors to learn about and appreciate the unique resources found in Big Cypress (NPS 1991). Several wildlife conservation goals established by federal and state wildlife agencies involve public education and information (USFWS 1999). Currently, there is no facility, with the exception of the Big Cypress Visitor Center at Oasis located 23 miles away, providing this type of resource education information available on the west side of the Preserve.This environmental assessment (EA) analyzes the impacts on the human environment of three alternatives, including the no-action alternative, the preferred alternative and alternative 3. This EA has been prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1508.9), the National Park Service's Director's Order Number 12 (D0-12), and The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended).