ORV Impacts on Vegetation
in Big Cypress National Preserve
The CRMS was asked by the National Park Service to assess the accuracy of off-road vehicle
(ORV) trail maps
and a corresponding digital database for Big Cypress National Preserve
(BICY). These products were produced
in 1997-1998 from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Aerial Photography Program
(NAPP) color infrared aerial
photographs recorded in 1994/1995 and resulted in the delineation of nearly
22,000 miles of rutted, undesignated trails.
For the accuracy assessment, areas corresponding to six USGS 7.5-minute quadrangles within BICY were
selected for accuracy assessment. In May 2000, helicopter and GPS navigation system were employed to verify trail
locations and classes noted on the maps. Nearly 1500 observed points were recorded from the helicopter or in
the field. These points were input to the ESRI ArcView software package to color-code trail classifications and
assess their accuracy with respect to the ORV trail maps. Results of this
study contributed to the development of an
ORV management plan for Big Cypress. Download
the final report.
 
Left: ORV Trails - Dry Season; Right: ORV Trails - Wet Season
ORV Trails - High Impact Area
Left: Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) typical of those used in Big Cypress. Right:
Ground view of an ORV trail.
Sample ORV Trails map for the Little Marsh Quadrangle in Big
Cypress National Preserve.
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Center
for Remote Sensing and Mapping Science