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Python Challenge 2013 Results Offer Help For Florida Parks – And Bad News For Pythons

Submitted by Jim Burnett on February 23, 2013 - 2:47am
The results of Python Challenge 2013, a multi-agency effort that offered cash prizes to promote the removal of non-native Burmese pythons from the greater Everglades area in southern Florida, are now in the books. Although the end result was bad news for exotic pythons, winners included the successful hunters, scientists and parks—and three lucky snakes.

Big Cypress National Preserve Facing Lawsuit Over Off-Road Vehicle Networks

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on February 6, 2013 - 2:44am
National Park Service officials are facing a lawsuit over off-road vehicle access in Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, where opponents say preserve officials are over-reaching with trail networks.

Everglades National Park's Wading Birds Nesting Success Falls Far Off Average

Submitted by NPT Staff on January 16, 2013 - 2:40am
South Florida, including Everglades National Park, has seen a precipitous decline in nesting success among wading birds, according to a report by the South Florida Water Management District.

Florida National Scenic Trail To Turn 30 In 2013

Submitted by NPT Staff on December 25, 2012 - 2:39am
The Florida National Scenic Trail will mark its 30th anniversary during 2013, and a special event is scheduled for January 4 to dedicate the trail's Southern Terminus with a monument at the Oasis Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve.

When Ordering The "Everglades Pizza," You Might Want To Hold The Python

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on December 10, 2012 - 2:38am
The "Everglades Pizza" might be the rage in some parts of Florida, but before you sink your teeth into the pie with frog legs, gator meat, and ground python, check where the python came from, because the big snakes slithering through Everglades National Park are incredibly high in mercury.

South Florida Snake Hunt Aims To Dent Population Of Pythons Slithering About The Everglades

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on December 9, 2012 - 2:37am
A python hunt, with cash rewards, will be held in south Florida beginning in January and running into February with hopes of denting the population of non-native pythons slithering around the Everglades, though the national park will be off-limits to most hunters.

National Park Service Urged To Follow The "Precautionary Principle" In Overseeing Cultural, Ecological Systems In The Parks

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on November 28, 2012 - 2:38am
Can the National Park Service more fully embrace the "precautionary principle," the concept that it err on the side of "science-informed prudence and restraint," as suggested by Revisiting Leopold: Resource Stewardship in the National Parks?

How Have National Parks And Public Lands Fared Under The Obama Administration?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on September 12, 2012 - 1:22am
With the Obama administration nearing the end of its first term, it has a track record for its stance on public lands in general and national parks specifically, and it's not as rosy as many conservationists had hoped for when the president came into office.

Wolf Trap Foundation For The Performing Arts To Present Face Of America: Spirit Of South Florida

Submitted by NPT Staff on September 2, 2012 - 1:08am
Inspired by graceful herons, crawling insects, and even alligators, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts is focusing on south Florida's national parks in its latest edition of Face of America.

Scientific Panel Calls On NPS To Recommit To, And Reemphasize, Science In The Parks

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on August 27, 2012 - 1:47am
A year-long review of how wildlife management and other sciences are studied in the National Park System has produced a call for the National Park Service to both recommit its staff to the sciences and to reemphasize science in the park system.

Federal Court Tosses Out ORV Plan For Bear Island Unit Of Big Cypress National Preserve, Says Park Service Acted Without Reason

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on July 11, 2012 - 10:12am
A federal judge has ruled that the National Park Service acted without sound reasoning in 2007 when it reopened more than 22 miles of off-road vehicle trails in Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida and ordered that the routes be closed before month's end.

Birding In The National Parks: Top 10 Birding Spots In The National Park System

Submitted by Kirby Adams on June 19, 2012 - 1:41am
Spring migration is winding down across much of North America, and it’s time for birders to relax and reflect. I’ve been contemplating happy thoughts such as where I would go if given an all-expenses paid birding trip to any U.S. National Park in the next 12 months. No one has offered this to me yet, but I made up a list in my head.

Fireside Read: One Night In The Everglades

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on June 6, 2012 - 1:44am
One Night in the Everglades (Long Term Ecological Research)
Much time is spent wondering how to connect today's youth with national parks, how to instill a life-lasting bond between these wondrous places and younger generations, to give them places to enjoy and appreciate, and to nurture tomorrow's stewards. Laurel Larsen, with the help of Joyce Mihran Turley, make strides in that direction with One Night in the Everglades.

Big Cypress National Preserve Extends Deadline For Your Comments On Hunting Plan

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 9, 2012 - 1:57am
The public has two more weeks to comment on a management plan guiding hunting in Big Cypress National Preserve, a rugged 729,000-acre swath of south Florida that is home to perhaps the most endangered mammal in North America.

Pythons Roaming Everglades National Park Develop Taste For Birds And Their Eggs

Submitted by NPT Staff on April 9, 2012 - 1:42am
You can add birds, and their eggs, to the prey that are falling victim to non-native Burmese pythons snaking through Everglades National Park, according to a study by Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service staff.

Snake in the Grass: An Everglades Invasion

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on February 2, 2012 - 2:45am
Snake in the Grass: An Everglades Invasion
In Snake in the Grass: An Everglades Invasion, Larry Perez takes us into the green leafy realm of Everglades National Park not in pursuit of the python, but rather in its wake. And it is a wide wake at that.

U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Finalizes Ban on Transportation of Non-native Constrictor Snakes That Threaten Everglades

Submitted by NPT Staff on January 17, 2012 - 2:10pm
Though it might be too late for Everglades National Park, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized a rule that would ban the importation and interstate transportation of four non-native constrictor snakes.

Everglades Coalition's Priorities For 2012 Include Better Water Conservation, Land Acquisition

Submitted by NPT Staff on January 10, 2012 - 2:40am
During its 27th Annual Conference the Everglades Coalition announced its priorities for 2012, priorities that range from better water conservation in the landscape that surrounds Everglades National Park to prioritization of land acquisition.

Birding in the National Parks

Submitted by NPT Staff on December 27, 2011 - 2:06am
This past year we started a bimonthly column on birding in the national parks, which is a great way to enjoy the parks while learning more about the hundreds of species that flit about the National Park System. Here's a look back at those columns.

Holiday Video Greetings from Your National Parks

Submitted by Jim Burnett on December 25, 2011 - 2:34am
The National Park Service is using modern technology to share holiday greetings from parks across the country. Short videos filmed in 15 parks are airing on the National Park Service's YouTube channel through the end of the month.

Orphaned Florida Panther Released into the Wild at Big Cypress National Preserve

Submitted by Jim Burnett on December 6, 2011 - 2:15am
The tale of a young Florida panther known as K304 reached an important milestone last week when the cat was released into the wild at Big Cypress National Preserve. Just over a year ago, the animal was found orphaned in the park after the death of its mother.

More Groups Sue National Park Service Over Big Cypress National Preserve Management Plan

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on November 3, 2011 - 11:26am
Another lawsuit has been filed against the National Park Service over its management plans for a section of Big Cypress National Preserve. The groups contend that the plan would allow too much off-road vehicle use in the area of the preserve known as the "Addition" Lands."

NPCA Sues National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service Over Big Cypress National Preserve Addition Lands Management

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on October 12, 2011 - 9:57am
National Park Service officials failed the American public by allowing off-road vehicle use in the "Addition lands" area of Big Cypress National Preserve, the National Parks Conservation Association charged today while filing a lawsuit against the agency.

Birding in the National Parks: Spotting Egrets, Herons, and More In Big Cypress National Preserve

Submitted by Kirby Adams on October 4, 2011 - 1:31am
Hopefully everyone’s planning a birding excursion to Alaska after reading Kurt’s review of his adventures in Glacier Bay National Park. In the meantime, a less frigid destination might be suitable for most travelers during the impending winter.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers, A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on August 18, 2011 - 1:48am
Hope Is the Thing With Feathers: A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds
Christopher Cokinos, an award-winning writer, poet, and English professor at Utah State University, has gathered up six long-lost bird species and taken a longing look at them from the perspective of personal loss for their absence in the skies above our heads.

Big Cypress National Preserve Officials Crafting Hunting Management Plan For Addition Lands

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on August 17, 2011 - 1:38am
Officials at Big Cypress National Preserve, which offers one of the last stands for the endangered Florida panther, are crafting a management plan to guide hunting in the big cats' habitat.

National Park Service Moving To Let Tribes Collect Plants, Minerals From Parks For Traditional Practices

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on July 27, 2011 - 1:57am
A move by the National Park Service to allow Native American tribes to collect plants and minerals from units of the National Park System for traditional purposes is being condemned by Public Employees for Environmental Purposes.

Dispersed Off-Road Vehicle Use Ends at Big Cypress National Preserve

Submitted by Jim Burnett on July 23, 2011 - 12:48am
One of the enduring topics of debate in NPS circles in recent years has been Off-road vehicle (ORV) use in Big Cypress National Preserve. The park reached an important milestone with the announcement that "dispersed" ORV use in the area would end on July 22, 2011.

PEER Maintains National Park Service Ignored Its Own Policies In Turning Blind Eye To Potential Wilderness at Big Cypress

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on July 3, 2011 - 1:40am
National Park Service officials manipulated agency regulations to reduce the number of acres eligible for wilderness designation by 40,000 at Big Cypress National Preserve so more of the preserve could be open to off-road vehicles, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

PEER Still Wondering What Happened to 40,000 Acres of Potential Wilderness in Big Cypress National Preseve

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on June 21, 2011 - 1:15am
How can the National Park Service, whose mission hinges predominantly on the preservation of the resources that fall within the National Park System, turn its back on 40,000 acres it deemed suitable for wilderness designation? That question is being investigated by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility at Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida.