Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Hunting

NRA Comments On The Environmental Impact Statement For The Big Cypress National Preserve Addition Lands

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Printer Friendly version (PDF)

June 13, 2006

National Park Service
Denver Service Center
Big Cypress Planning Team
12795 West Almeda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-9901

Dear Big Cypress Planning Team:

The National Rifle Association (NRA) takes this opportunity to respond to the National Park Service's announcement that the scope of the General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/EIS) for the Big Cypress National Preserve Addition Lands will be expanded to include a wilderness study and an off-road vehicle management plan. The announcement invited the public to comment on these subjects.

The focus of our comments is on the wilderness study. The NRA acknowledges the fact that the study is required by the Addition Lands= enabling legislation; however, we believe that the language was included as standard language in legislation creating units of the National Park System at the time and didn't take into account the long history of mankind's presence in that area. A central issue to the wilderness review is how designation of wilderness will affect the traditional and customary activities that the enabling legislation and its supporters took great pains and precautions to protect.

The National Park Service's overview of the Wilderness Act, as provided in its website information about the GMP process, states that hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing, camping etc. will be allowed, provided that motorized equipment or mechanical transportation is not used. This restriction may be acceptable in other units of the National Park System where mankind's presence was rarely felt and recreational activities, other than the very primitive, were uncommon. This is not the situation with the Addition Lands where these activities have been taking place for decades with the help of motorized vehicles and equipment. Wilderness designation would strangle traditional access and close the area to sportsmen whose activities the enabling legislation sought to protect.

The Wilderness Act overview also notes that for an area to quality as wilderness it has primeval character and influence to be retained. The Addition Lands have long been inhabited, visited and used by man such that this requirement for wilderness designation does not exist. If it did, it is unlikely that the Big Cypress would have been established as a National Preserve and the Addition Lands added to it. It would have been designated as a national park. Designation of a national preserve indicates that the area is more "open" to human activity than what is generally allowed in a national park, including such activities as hunting and the use of OHVs. Wilderness designation would turn the concept of a "Preserve" on its head.

The overview also notes that wilderness designation must at a minimum meet certain criteria including that the designated area appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable. For centuries man has traversed the Big Cypress and the Addition Lands. Man's imprint is found throughout the Addition Lands. The network of ORV trails alone would disqualify the area as suitable for wilderness designation.

In closing, the NRA agrees that the GMP/EIS should be expanded to include the wilderness study only because the summary of the GMP process states that, "until the wilderness suitability study and general management plan are completed, the Addition Lands will remain closed to recreational OHV use." However, the NRA strongly opposes any designation of wilderness within the Addition Lands because it contravenes the intent of Congress and the enabling legislation.

Big Cypress National Preserve and the Addition Lands were set aside to provide recreational opportunities not generally allowed in national parks. There was no intent to have these activities and the access necessary to enjoy them subjected to the restrictions of a national park designation, and most assuredly the intent was not to subject them to the restrictions of the Wilderness Act.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments for the public record.

Sincerely,

Susan Recce
Director
Conservation, Wildlife and Natural Resources

TRENDING NOW
Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

In a temporary reprieve for Colorado gun owners, the semi-auto ban HB24-1292 has been removed from the calendar. But we cannot let our guard down as gun control advocates can bring it up for a vote at ...

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

Much of the attention this past week in the United States Supreme Court was the oral arguments in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, No. 22-842, a First Amendment case on whether government officials ...

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

On March 19, the city of Chicago filed suit against handgun manufacturer Glock. Seeking to shift responsibility for the city’s woeful governance, Chicago’s lawsuit blames the popular firearm manufacturer for the third-party criminal misuse of ...

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Today, Governor Inslee signed five anti-gun bills into law that were recently passed by the Washington State Legislature. The bills include:

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 24-1292, the semi-auto ban, that lasted over 12 hours where hundreds of patriotic Coloradans overloaded the committee with opposition testimony. The hearing concluded with an ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

News  

Second Amendment  

Monday, March 25, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

In response to the NRA’s victory in Bruen, which secured every American’s right to carry arms, NY passed the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act,” severely restricting carry throughout the state. The 2nd Circuit upheld many of ...

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

On Wednesday, the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee voted 7-4 to pass Senate Bill 67 to the Senate floor for a vote. 

Grassroots Spotlight: Michigan Grassroots

Take Action  

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Grassroots Spotlight: Michigan Grassroots

It's been a busy start to the year in the Wolverine State, as the Michigan NRA-ILA Grassroots Team has been out alerting and educating members and supporters on the critical changes in gun laws and working to stop ...

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

Monday, March 25, 2024

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

A number of firearm-related bills, including enhanced preemption, are moving in the Louisiana Legislature. It's critical that NRA members and Second Amendment supporters get involved to keep the momentum going!

Kentucky: Credit Card Data Privacy Bill Passed Into Law

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Kentucky: Credit Card Data Privacy Bill Passed Into Law

Today, Governor Andy Beshear let HB 357, the Merchant Category Code ban legislation pass into law without his signature. Your NRA would like to thank Representatives Derek Lewis (R, H-90), Michael Meredith (R, H-19), and Senator ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.