Everglades National Park GMP/East Everglades Wilderness Study
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Note: the April 8, 2013 webcast will start at 6:15 p.m. and will include presentations and public comment and East Everglades Wilderness Hearing portions of the meeting. Follow link in "Meeting Notices" at left and find the link in the URL/Webinar section provided for the April 8 meeting.
Providing input: The preferred method is to use this site and providing comments electronically through the "Open for Comment" link in the left column. Written or typed comments can also be mailed to: Everglades National Park, Attention: GMP Planning Team, 40001 SR 9336, Homestead, FL 33034
Overview:
The National Park Service (NPS) is developing a new general management plan (GMP) for Everglades National Park. The plan will also include a wilderness study for the East Everglades Addition, an area added to the park boundary in 1989. The general management plan will provide broad guidance for decisions about natural and cultural resource protection, appropriate types and levels of visitor activities, and facility development. The plan will articulate the park's mission, purpose, and significance, and define the resource conditions and visitor experiences that should be achieved and maintained over time. The plan will consider Everglades National Park both as a unit of the national park system and in a broader ecosystem context that includes the surrounding South Florida region.
February 27, 2013 - Update
Everglades National Park has released its Draft General Management Plan / East Everglades Wilderness Study / Environmental Impact Statement (Draft GMP) for public review and comment. The Draft GMP public comment period is open through Sunday, May 12, 2013. Superintendent Dan Kimball said "the park has been working to complete the draft plan for many years, and we're pleased to have reached this important milestone. We now look forward to presenting the results of this collaborative effort, hearing directly from the public and many stakeholder groups, and working to shape the long-term vision for the park when the plan is completed next year." Seven (7) public meetings will be held for both the Draft GMP and the East Everglades Wilderness Study. The Draft GMP provides broad guidance and describes desired conditions to be achieved and maintained over time regarding natural and cultural resource protection, appropriate types and levels of visitor activities, and facility development, and also includes a wilderness study for the East Everglades Addition (an area added to the park in 1989, after the park's original 1978 wilderness designation). It presents and evaluates the NPS Preferred Alternative and three other alternatives. Superintendent Kimball believes that the Preferred Alternative would most effectively achieve the long-term goals and desired conditions for the park and for compatibility with Everglades ecosystem restoration efforts. "The planning team carefully considered the park's mission, its legal responsibilities, current and future restoration projects, and public input in crafting the Preferred Alternative, which also is identified as the environmentally preferred alternative." Following the comment period, public input will be reviewed and analyzed, and adjustments will be made before issuing the Final GMP and Record of Decision in 2014.
Thank you for your continued interest and involvement in the general management plan process. Together we will develop a plan that provides a variety of visitor opportunities while continuing to preserve and protect the resources that make Everglades National Park so special.
Sincerely,
Dan B. Kimball
Superintendent, Everglades National Park
Contact Information
Please contact the park at 305-242-7700
Providing input: The preferred method is to use this site and providing comments electronically through the "Open for Comment" link in the left column. Written or typed comments can also be mailed to: Everglades National Park, Attention: GMP Planning Team, 40001 SR 9336, Homestead, FL 33034
Overview:
The National Park Service (NPS) is developing a new general management plan (GMP) for Everglades National Park. The plan will also include a wilderness study for the East Everglades Addition, an area added to the park boundary in 1989. The general management plan will provide broad guidance for decisions about natural and cultural resource protection, appropriate types and levels of visitor activities, and facility development. The plan will articulate the park's mission, purpose, and significance, and define the resource conditions and visitor experiences that should be achieved and maintained over time. The plan will consider Everglades National Park both as a unit of the national park system and in a broader ecosystem context that includes the surrounding South Florida region.
February 27, 2013 - Update
Everglades National Park has released its Draft General Management Plan / East Everglades Wilderness Study / Environmental Impact Statement (Draft GMP) for public review and comment. The Draft GMP public comment period is open through Sunday, May 12, 2013. Superintendent Dan Kimball said "the park has been working to complete the draft plan for many years, and we're pleased to have reached this important milestone. We now look forward to presenting the results of this collaborative effort, hearing directly from the public and many stakeholder groups, and working to shape the long-term vision for the park when the plan is completed next year." Seven (7) public meetings will be held for both the Draft GMP and the East Everglades Wilderness Study. The Draft GMP provides broad guidance and describes desired conditions to be achieved and maintained over time regarding natural and cultural resource protection, appropriate types and levels of visitor activities, and facility development, and also includes a wilderness study for the East Everglades Addition (an area added to the park in 1989, after the park's original 1978 wilderness designation). It presents and evaluates the NPS Preferred Alternative and three other alternatives. Superintendent Kimball believes that the Preferred Alternative would most effectively achieve the long-term goals and desired conditions for the park and for compatibility with Everglades ecosystem restoration efforts. "The planning team carefully considered the park's mission, its legal responsibilities, current and future restoration projects, and public input in crafting the Preferred Alternative, which also is identified as the environmentally preferred alternative." Following the comment period, public input will be reviewed and analyzed, and adjustments will be made before issuing the Final GMP and Record of Decision in 2014.
Thank you for your continued interest and involvement in the general management plan process. Together we will develop a plan that provides a variety of visitor opportunities while continuing to preserve and protect the resources that make Everglades National Park so special.
Sincerely,
Dan B. Kimball
Superintendent, Everglades National Park
Contact Information
Please contact the park at 305-242-7700
