{"id":16713,"date":"2025-08-27T15:03:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T19:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/?p=16713"},"modified":"2025-08-27T20:54:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T00:54:10","slug":"the-everglades-detention-centers-threat-to-wildlife-water-and-big-cypress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/the-everglades-detention-centers-threat-to-wildlife-water-and-big-cypress\/","title":{"rendered":"The Everglades detention center\u2019s threat to wildlife, water, and Big Cypress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Vital history: How Big Cypress National Preserve was first protected<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In the late 1960s, plans for the Everglades Jetport\u2014a six-runway facility that would have been the largest airport in the world\u2014triggered urgent warnings from scientists and environmentalists. A pivotal environmental impact report led by hydrologist Luna B. Leopold concluded that the Jetport would \u201cinexorably destroy the South Florida ecosystem and thus the Everglades National Park,\u201d citing devastating impacts from sewage, industrial waste, air pollution, and habitat loss. This scientific alarm gave momentum to activists such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who at age 79, co-founded Friends of the Everglades in 1969 and mobilized thousands through her powerful advocacy. During the same time period, Joe Browder of the National Audubon Society worked alongside Douglas to build grassroots resistance, bringing national attention to the threat and pressing political leaders to act.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Portrait of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, activist for the Everglades. Credit: Friends of the Everglades<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Nathaniel Reed, serving as environmental advisor to Governor Claude Kirk, used Leopold\u2019s findings and the mounting public pressure to persuade the governor to withdraw Florida\u2019s support for the project. Shortly after, President Nixon aligned with the state\u2019s position, effectively halting construction after only a single runway had been built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The combined force of science, citizen activism, and political leadership not only stopped the Jetport but also redirected attention toward permanent protection of the region\u2014culminating in the federal purchase of surrounding lands and the creation of the Big Cypress National Preserve in 1974, the nation\u2019s first national preserve. That historical momentum also would \u201cinspire Florida\u2019s modern Everglades movement\u2026 and led the Department of Interior to commission a report to assess the ecological impacts of the [Jetport] project, one of the nation\u2019s first environmental impact statements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservancy\u2019s Historical Protection of Big Cypress National Preserve<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The Big Cypress National Preserve, a critical part of the western Everglades, is an iconic American landscape deserving of conservation and protection. Despite the success of legendary Everglades voices to fight the Jetport, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida has remained vigilant over the decades to fend off incompatible intensified land uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an organization located in Collier County and dedicated to protecting the greater Western Everglades, we do not believe this level of intensification is appropriate in the Big Cypress National Preserve. Throughout our 60+ year history, the Conservancy has fought for the protection of Big Cypress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Staff and partners at Big Cypress National Preserve mitigation site<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Environmental
Staff in action advocating for wildlife protection<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Amber Crooks speaking at Everglades Coalition Conference<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Staff in the field at Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"People
Staff participating in EAA Reservoir groundbreaking<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Staff at C-43 Reservoir groundbreaking<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For example, in 2010, the Conservancy joined with others to successfully oppose Miami-Dade County\u2019s proposal to create the \u2018Dade-Collier Cypress Recreation District,\u2019 an off-road vehicle recreation park at the Jetport site. This proposed 1,608-acre district would have heavily impacted natural resources and listed species habitat on Jetport property. Fortunately, this proposal never came to fruition. Beginning around 2013, new oil drilling and exploration threatened new industrial activities in the sensitive preserve, and the Conservancy has been fighting to protect the sensitive wetlands and wildlife of our public lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, without notice or environmental review, the intensified use of the Jetport site as \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d has threatened the natural resources within the heart of the Western Everglades. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has joined partner organizations in the opposition to \u201cAlligator Alcatraz,\u201d or the Everglades Detention Center, which is located between the Big Cypress National Preserve and nearby Everglades National Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 21, 2025, a judge provided a Preliminary Injunction regarding a suit brought forward by the Friends of the Everglades, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians. Per this court order, like the Jetport before it, the Everglades Detention Center must be reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), one of America\u2019s foundational environmental laws that was originally signed by President Nixon in 1969.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the requirements of NEPA would mean that impacts are analyzed and assessed prior to decision-making. Moving forward without the prior environmental reviews could set a dangerous precedent. This is critical given the location of the Detention Center within the sensitive wetland ecosystem of the Big Cypress, such a review is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about the Conservancy\u2019s environmental concerns here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n