For more information:

Big Cypress National Preserve (National Park Service)

GIS Aids Eradication of Melaleuca - June 1996 - Geo Info

Melaleuca - Everglades Restoration Movement

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The Big Cypress Melaleuca Fight

Big Cypress National Preserve protects about 750,000 acres of Southwest Florida. But not long ago, more than a third of it was home to the invasive plant Melaleuca. Thanks to an aggressive, eradication effort, the bulk of the preserve is maintained nearly Melaleuca free. Bill Snyder is a Big Cypress Forestry Technician...

Uprooting an Invasive Pest

At one time, the invasive plant Melaleuca had taken root in nearly a third of Big Cypress National Preserve's 750,000 acres. That the preserve is now maintained nearly free of the paper-barked tree is thanks to a two-and-a-half million dollar effort that began nearly 20 years ago. Forestry technician Bill Snyder...

Helping Natural Areas Stay Natural

Those who manage Florida's protected, natural lands, make the point that preserving land is only part of the solution. Managing the lands to keep them natural and healthy is also key. Bill Snyder is a forestry technician at the Big Cypress National Preserve...

Imagine for a moment, the task of keeping weed-free, a 750,000 acre garden. That's the challenge faced by land managers at Big Cypress National Preserve, in their fight against the grows-like-a-weed Melaleuca tree. Forestry technician Bill Snyder, says the effort took to the air...

Nursing Native Lands to Health

Part of what makes the invasive plant Melaleuca so undesirable in Florida is that it can grow so thick as to force out other native plants and animals from areas it infests. But when Melaleuca is removed in projects like one in Big Cypress National Preserve, the native natural systems literally spring back to life...