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Keep Destructive Off-Road Vehicles Out of Big Cypress

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Sponsor: The Rainforest Site

A federal proposal would open 147,000 acres of protected Florida wilderness to off-road vehicles — and the damage could be permanent.

Keep Destructive Off-Road Vehicles Out of Big Cypress

Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida is one of the last truly wild landscapes in the eastern United States — a vast expanse of cypress strands, prairies, and wetlands that shelter species found almost nowhere else. Now a federal proposal threatens to unravel protections that have been in place for nearly four decades.

What the Proposal Would Do

In October 2026, the National Park Service published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would amend the boundary maps governing off-road vehicle (ORV) access inside the preserve.2 The target is the Addition Lands — roughly 147,000 acres incorporated into Big Cypress in 1988 that have been closed to recreational ORV use ever since. The NPS framed the move as expanding recreational access,3 but the ecological record tells a different story.

The Science Is Clear

Research from the University of Florida documents what happens when off-road vehicles enter ecosystems like Big Cypress: soil compaction, vegetation destruction, degraded water flow, and direct displacement and death of wildlife.1 These effects accumulate over time and across seasons. Recovery, even after vehicle use stops, is slow and uncertain.

The Florida panther has fewer than 300 individuals left in the wild, and the Addition Lands form a critical part of their remaining habitat. Every undisturbed acre carries outsized weight for a population this small. Wading birds, gopher tortoises, and many other species depend on the same ground. ORV use brings noise, habitat fragmentation, and physical danger into territory these animals have nowhere else to find.

This Is Not the First Attack on Big Cypress

This proposal arrives alongside a string of other threats to the preserve. Earlier in 2026, Senate Bill 446 sought to block any future wilderness designation for portions of Big Cypress — a move that would permanently eliminate the strongest legal protections available to the land. A broad coalition of conservation groups came out in opposition.4,7 Separately, a lawsuit challenged large-scale development activity threatening panther habitat in and around the same region.5

The National Park Service completed a comprehensive environmental review of backcountry access as recently as late 2024, producing a Record of Decision that reflected the complexity of balancing access and conservation.6 Advancing this boundary amendment ahead of that careful record, and without full weight given to the ecological evidence, risks permanent damage to one of Florida's most significant federal lands.

The Addition Lands Were Protected for a Reason

The wildlife that depend on the Addition Lands have no alternative refuge. The Florida panther cannot simply relocate. Neither can the dozens of other species that rely on this habitat. The public comment period on this proposed rule is the moment for outside voices to be heard by decision-makers — and right now, those voices are urgently needed.

Sign the petition to urge the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks to withdraw this proposal and keep the Addition Lands closed to recreational off-road vehicles.

More on this issue:

  1. Frank J. Mazzotti et al., University of Florida / IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (Croc Docs), UF/IFAS Croc Docs – crocdoc.ifas.ufl.edu (1 January 2003), "Impacts of Off-Road Vehicle Use on Wildlife in the Prairie Ecosystems of Big Cypress National Preserve."
  2. National Park Service, Federal Register (2 October 2026), "Big Cypress National Preserve; Off-Road Motor Vehicles (Proposed Rule, 91 FR 62682)."
  3. National Park Service, National Park Service – nps.gov (1 October 2026), "National Park Service Proposes Expanded Off-Road Vehicle Access in Big Cypress National Preserve."
  4. Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler (16 February 2026), "Groups Oppose Bill That Would Block Wilderness Designation At Big Cypress National Preserve."
  5. Daria Mironova, WMNF 88.5 FM (11 May 2026), "Florida Panther lawsuit challenges massive development."
  6. National Park Service, Interior Region 2, NPS Park Planning – parkplanning.nps.gov (12 December 2024), "Big Cypress National Preserve Backcountry Access Plan / Wilderness Study Final Environmental Impact Statement – Record of Decision."
  7. Coalition to Protect America's National Parks et al., Protect NPS – protectnps.org (4 February 2026), "Oppose S. 446: Don't Strip Big Cypress National Preserve of Its Chance for Wilderness Protection."

The Petition

To the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, United States Department of the Interior,

We write on behalf of the thousands of people who care deeply about Big Cypress National Preserve and the irreplaceable wild lands it protects. We urge you to withdraw the proposed boundary-map amendment published in the Federal Register on October 2, 2026, and to preserve the longstanding prohibition on recreational off-road vehicle use in the Addition Lands.

The Addition Lands — approximately 147,000 acres incorporated into Big Cypress in 1988 — have been protected from recreational ORV use for nearly four decades. That protection was not arbitrary. Research from the University of Florida documents the direct and lasting damage off-road vehicles inflict on prairie and wetland ecosystems: soil compaction, vegetation loss, disrupted hydrology, and wildlife displacement and mortality. These are not reversible harms. Once the landscape is degraded, recovery is slow and uncertain.

The stakes are especially high for the Florida panther. Fewer than 300 of these animals survive in the wild, and the Addition Lands form a critical part of their remaining habitat. Every acre of undisturbed territory has outsized value for a population this small. Wading birds, gopher tortoises, and countless other species depend on the same ground. Opening this land to ORV traffic introduces noise, fragmentation, and physical danger into habitat these animals have nowhere else to find.

We also ask that you consider the broader context. Congress has already seen legislation aimed at blocking future wilderness designation for portions of Big Cypress, and ongoing legal challenges reflect how many threats this preserve is absorbing at once. The National Park Service completed a thorough environmental review of backcountry access as recently as late 2024. Advancing this boundary amendment faster than that careful record supports, and without giving full weight to the ecological evidence, risks permanent harm to one of the last functioning wild landscapes in the eastern United States.

Humanity and compassion require that we act as stewards of what we cannot replace. The animals living in the Addition Lands have no voice in this process. The people signing this petition are lending them one. We ask you to listen.

Withdraw this proposal. Keep the Addition Lands closed to recreational off-road vehicles. Doing so will help secure a healthier, more resilient future for wildlife, wild places, and the generations of people who will inherit them.

Sincerely,

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