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Statement Proposing Federal Acquisition of Big Cypress Swamp, Florida, for a National Reserve.

November 23, 1971

ABOUT 35 miles west of Miami lies the Big Cypress Swamp, a unique ecological

preserve of paramount importance to the future of southern Florida. In order to protect Big Cypress Swamp from private development that would destroy it, and to insure its survival for future generations, it is now essential for the Federal Government to acquire 'this unique and vital watershed. I will, therefore, propose legislation to acquire the requisite legal interest in 547,000 acres of the swamp.

The end of Big Cypress Swamp would not only severely cut back south Florida's water supply but would also mean the destruction of the Everglades National Park--and with it the loss of a treasure trove of natural resources, teeming with flowering plants, rare birds, and other forms of uncommon and endangered wildlife. The swamp's huge stands of cypress, wet prairies, and slightly higher islands of pine trees are together an essential link in the ecology of both Everglades National Park and the rich Floridian estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico. Animals and birds move between the park and the swamp without knowledge of the artificial borders drawn by man.

This land acquisition will mark the fourth time this Administration has taken steps to protect the unique natural resources of south Florida. First was the halting of the commercial jetport proposed in Big Cypress, which would have wrought irretrievable damage to the area. The pledge to locate the jetport elsewhere has given us time to examine again alternative plans for the survival of the swamp. Second, through the 1970 rivers and harbors act, the eastern portion of Everglades National Park has, for the first time, been assured an adequate supply of water. Third, by legal action, the Administration has halted the threat of destruction from thermal pollution to Biscayne National Monument, one of the newest units of the national park system, thus assuring the preservation of an important ecosystem next door to Miami.

My decision today is intended to secure the future not only of the Big Cypress but also of an adequate water supply for the western part of Everglades National Park. This action will also assure an adequate water supply to the growing communities on Florida's west coast, because the swamp is a natural water storage area.

To guarantee the continued availability of Big Cypress to the people, I propose that, upon acquisition of those private lands whose development would destroy the watershed, the Secretary of the Interior be authorized to enter into an agreement with the State of Florida for the management of Big Cypress. The State is in the process of acquiring other public areas nearby and is the logical agency to provide single, unified management. The Nation, as a whole, will benefit through the protection of Everglades National Park and through the addition of another major wildlife haven and recreation area.

Note: On the same day, the White House released a fact sheet and the transcript of a news briefing by Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton on the proposed acquisition.

Richard Nixon, Statement Proposing Federal Acquisition of Big Cypress Swamp, Florida, for a National Reserve. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240275

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