Big Cypress National Preserve Designated Off-road Vehicle (ORV) Trails Mitigation Plan
Resource Managment Division Big Cypress National Preserve. 2003. Big Cypress National Preserve Designated Off-road Vehicle (ORV) Trails Mitigation Plan. Resource Managment Division: Big Cypress National Preserve
As part of an Off-road Vehicle (ORV) Management Plan approved by the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Department of the Interior, Big Cypress National Preserve has undertaken restoration activities in several areas that have been ecologically compromised by ORV activities. In 2000 the Preserve began designating a system of about 400 miles of ORV trails in response to contention between conservation organizations in southern Florida and groups that commonly use the Preserve for ORV recreation. The designated trail system will allow limited use of the Preserve by ORV users and help limit habitat alteration that occurred nearly throughout the Preserve. Restriction of ORV traffic to designated trails, however, has resulted in concentrated use of these trails, so that it was necessary to reinforce or stabilize the trails to accommodate the increased traffic. As part of an agreement between the Preserve and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this Mitigation Plan was developed to compensate for the filling of approximately 34 acres of wetlands. Additionally, this plan provides additional restoration and creation of native wetland communities to help replace wetlands that may be compromised by the designated ORV trail system.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Resource Managment Division Big Cypress National Preserve
- Date of Issue
- 2003-11
- Units
- BICY
- Keywords
- field sampling, Mitigation, Monitoring, off road vehicle, ORV, Restoration