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S 446 119th Congress Senate Public Lands and Natural Resources Florida Parks, recreation areas, trails Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

A bill to prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes.

Introduced: February 6, 2025 Introduced by: Scott, Rick Republican · Florida See on congress.gov
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 4, 2026
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably and an amendment to the title.
Dec 9, 2025
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held.
Feb 6, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Feb 6, 2025
Introduced in Senate
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

This bill prohibits the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The National Park Service currently manages Big Cypress National Preserve, which is a freshwater swamp ecosystem of 729,000 acres. 

In general, development activities, commercial activities, permanent structures, and roads are prohibited in wilderness areas. In contrast, natural preserves typically allow some development activities, such as hunting or oil and gas exploration.

What's happening now February 4, 2026

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably and an amendment to the title.

 Hearings & markups 2
 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Lobbying activity 5

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 446: A bill to prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes.. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-446/
MLA
"S. 446: A bill to prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes.." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-446/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 446, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-446/.
Markdown link
[S. 446: A bill to prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes.](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-446/)
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