Project Background

The growing population in South Florida requires the continued acquisition and development of park and recreation open spaces.  Along with the acquisition of urban parks that offer fields, courts and centers, there is a corresponding need for rural parks whose natural resources offer opportunities for hiking, fishing, camping and bicycling.  Miami Dade County received a number of citizen inquiries citing the need for a safe area for motorized recreation within a reasonable distance of their homes.  The Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation Department confirmed the need in a recent study, and intends to establish a rural recreation area inclusive of off-road trails.

Right now, registered owners of Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) are forced to often use unsafe and illegal locations to ride.  It leads to a growing number of riders facing death and injury from crashes and accidents along roadways.  Off road, these same actions are causing property damage within agricultural areas and fires and habitat destruction within environmentally sensitive areas.

Facts/Statistics

• The most recent Florida Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Safety and Recreation Report identified southeast Florida as the area of the State with the most critical need for OHV recreation.
• Within Miami-Dade, Broward, Collier and Monroe Counties there are almost 25,000 registered off-highway vehicles and only one legal place to ride.
• The popularity of riding OHVs is expanding, with a corresponding increases in illegal and unsafe incidents.

Project Location

The Dade-Collier Cypress Recreation Area is situated within the Miami-Dade County Training and Transition Airport, a 24,000 acre property located 35 miles east of Miami.  The Recreation Area is comprised of the southernmost 1,600 acres south of the runway and north of mile marker 47 on Tamiami Trail.

Partners

• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Forestry
• Miami-Dade County Aviation Department
• Dade County Farm Bureau
• Collier County Park and Recreation Department
• Big Cypress National Preserve

Description

The Project involves transitioning a 1,600 acre portion of the Training and Transition Airport from aviation use to park and recreation use.  Through a partnership between Miami-Dade County and Collier County, the Project seeks to create a recreational area that provides activities not always available within adjacent urban environments.  In addition to retaining and protecting intact natural areas, the Recreation Area will support archery, camping, fishing, hiking and bicycling, and a well planned system of safe and legal Off-Highway Vehicle trails.  OHV trails will be stabilized and in designated locations for use by all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and motorbikes.  Creation of the Recreation Area will also insure that the property is managed like the Big Cypress National Preserve that completely encircles it.

Existing Uses

• Swamp buggy trails
• Hunting
• Traditional gladesmen's campsites

Proposed Uses and Attendance Projections

Benefits

• Retain intact natural resources on aviation land by conserving and protecting them within a park and recreation area. 
• The recreational area with expand available recreational activities, public access and environmental educational opportunities for urban populations who often have limited opportunities to appreciate regional assets.
• A legal, safe and supervised OHV trails will reduce personal injuries and property damage now taking place within respective Counties.

Status

• The Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation Department is preparing to execute in September 2009 an Interdepartmental Agreement with the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department to permit park and recreation use of aviation land.
• The Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation Department has submitted an April 2009 application to amend the Collier County Growth Management Plan and Future Land Use Map to permit motorized recreation on the property.
• County and State review and public hearings will take until December 2010 to approve the Amendment.
• Until that time, the Dade-Collier Cypress Recreation Area may only be used for all forms of non-motorized recreation that do not require site improvements.