About Friends of Big Cypress, Inc.   

   Friends of Big Cypress, Inc. is a 501-C3 not-for-profit, citizen-supported organization dedicated to enhancing educational, interpretive, and research opportunities at Big Cypress National Preserve. Our mission also includes working to protect the ecological integrity of the Big Cypress Watershed in addition to its natural, scenic, and recreational values.

    As the official private sector partner to the Preserve, the Friends group is a membership organization that raises funds from individuals, corporations and foundations to supplement the Park’s budget.

    Money raised by the Friends supports environmental education, natural resource conservation, and scientific research. The Friends also acts as an advocate for our Preserve, particularly on issues that threaten its natural resources.

    We were incorporated in 2003 and are governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.

                                               GOALS

    Our future looks bright. We have a wonderful group of volunteers who are eager to make a difference with their lives by helping Big Cypress. We are a new group and anticipate creating a great organization to assist Big Cypress National Preserve to help citizens and visitors of South Florida better understand the ecosystem of the area.

    Each year the Big Cypress Preserve submits a support request to the Friends’ Board of Directors. The Board evaluates each item within the context of our mission and funding priorities. We work closely with the Park Superintendent and Park staff to develop new projects, set priorities and apprise philanthropic individuals and organizations of opportunities for supporting the Preserve.

    For more information on our current goals and projects, check out our “Projects” section of the website.

                                        MEMBERSHIP

    The Friends currently has 350 members. We keep in touch with our members via our website newsletter, Cypress Chatter, annual membership renewal letters, special appeals, community events and through other areas on our website. For the current issue of Cypress Chatter check out the “Newsletter” section of our website.

    When becoming a member of the Friends you receive the opportunity to meet and enjoy the friendship of other people who also possess a special affection toward Big Cypress National preserve and the unique environment located here.

    As a group we enjoy each others company on swamp walks, hikes, canoe trips, camping trips and many other activities. We also join together to help the Preserve in areas such as education, cleaning trails, repairs, art projects and more.

              Friends of Big Cypress, Inc. 
               Privacy Policy

    We are concerned about the privacy of our members and the confidentiality of their information. The intent of this privacy statement is to clarify our efforts and activities in this area as it relates to information privacy on the Internet and in all our operations.

    We DO NOT store a cookie - a tiny text file - on your system.

    We request specific member information, such as name, address and email address when you join or volunteer. This information may be entered into the membership database and is used to communicate with you on Friends issues and to provide regular updates from the Preserve. We encourage you to choose electronic communication over regular mail to enable us to spend postage dollars on more meaningful endeavors.

    We do not sell, rent or trade mailing lists of our membership to any organization. Information for volunteers is shared with the Big Cypress National Preserve and is then protected by the Privacy Act (PL 93-579). 5 U.S.C.301 and 7 CFR 260, which authorizes acceptance of the information requested in the volunteer application. That data will be used to contact applicants and to interview, screen and select them for volunteer assignments. Furnishing this data is voluntary.

    Please send comments or questions regarding this privacy policy statement, or other issues surrounding the Friends website to:

Friends of Big Cypress, Inc.
52388 Tamiami Trail
HC 61 Box 16
Ochopee, Fl 34141
mail@friendsofbigcypress.org