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Big Thicket And Big Cypress National Preserves Celebrate 50 Years

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Compiled from NPS Releases

Published Date

October 8, 2024

Big Cypress National Preserve / DOI

America's first two national preserves, Big Thicket and Big Cypress, turn 50 years old this week. Both were created on October 11, 1974. They were established in areas that have natural features often associated with national parks, but which allow some extraction of natural resources while protecting particular ecosystems within the preserves. There are 21 such preserves managed by the National Park Service. 

Big Cypress National Preserve, which stretches across 730,000 acres in south Florida, is home to estuaries, mangrove forests, and the Bald Cypress stands the preserve is named for. It's one of the most ecologically rich and diverse areas in the country. As a Preserve, Big Cypress protects not only the land, but also the traditional uses of the land. That includes Off-Road Vehicle usage, hunting and fishing, traditional use and occupancy by the Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes, private land ownership, prescribed fires and more! It is our responsibility to strike a balance between the natural and human agendas in order to protect this land, and its traditional uses for generations to come.

Big Thicket National Preserve is in southeast Texas, along the Gulf Coastal Plain. This biodiverse landscape is home to meandering creeks and bayous, mazes of bald cypress and tupelo sloughs, dense stands of hardwoods, and tall longleaf pine forests. Water flows slowly through Big Thicket, where subtle differences in elevation create wet, muddy bogs alongside dry, sandy uplands. Life abounds here, including the unusual: four of North America’s five kinds of carnivorous plants inhabit the thicket’s wetlands. Big Thicket is an outdoor recreation destination covering over 113,000 acres of public land spread out over 15 preserve “units”. Here, visitors can hike 40 miles of trails, paddle on scenic waterways, camp in the backcountry, hunt for deer and hogs, and much more.

Both preserves are planning festivities celebrating their 50th anniversaries. 

Events at Big Thicket are listed here, while those at Big Cypress are here. 

 

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