Big Cypress National Preserve

Their proposal comes amid continued interest in expanding oil production within the Big Cypress National Preserve, an Everglades wilderness they consider sacred.

Big Cypress National Preserve has issued a temporary closure to promote visitor safety during prescribed fire activity beginning Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024.

The snake, stretching 19 feet, was caught in the Big Cypress National Preserve. The invasive species runs rampant through southern Florida, wreaking havoc on the state's native animal populations.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported the Big Cypress National Preserve reported Thursday that the fire had grown by more than 50 percent.

The ungainly yet graceful wood stork, which was on the brink of extinction in 1984, has rebounded dramatically in Florida and other Southern states, officials say.

"Time and time again, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has missed these deadlines for species. They have an incredible backlog of decisions to make, not just for the ghost orchid, and we're really concerned about that," said Elise Bennett with the Center for Biological Diversity.

The sash reportedly worn at the time of his capture in the early 19th century is on display for the first time at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, but not for long.

The money will be used for restoration projects that have dragged on for years, including building a reservoir and undoing damage from old bridges built in the Everglades.

The Department of Environmental Protection in November denied a permit that Trend Exploration sought to drill an exploratory well to seek oil reserves.

An environmental advocacy group is challenging a plan to drill two more oil wells near the Everglades in the Big Cypress Swamp.

Burnett Oil Co. has proposed drilling at two sites in the Everglades of Big Cypress National Preserve, an important Florida panther habitat that sprawls across both sides of Alligator Alley. Environmentalists hope the Biden administration takes a more skeptical view.

There are an estimated 1,000 bears in South Florida living in the conservation areas of Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park.