Politics Aside, Florida Swamp Fans Relieved

June 2, 2002 -- The Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida is a 729,000-acre swampland home to alligators, otters, hawks and at least eight endangered species.

"This is a very special place," said John Donahue, superintendent of the Big Cypress National Preserve. "I like to call it a primordial place. There's very few places where you can feel in touch with nature as you can here at Big Cypress."

But there also are oil trucks, oil drills, and storage tanks — signs of the kind of energy exploration the Bush administration has tended to promote.

That's why the president's decision last week to stop further exploration — to in effect preserve the preserve — has been a pleasant surprise for environmentalists.

"This is a wonderful decision and a wonderful day for Big Cypress, for the Everglades system and the national park system in general," said Ron Tipton of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Half a million people visit Big Cypress every year to observe animals like the rare Florida panther. There are more of them at Big Cypress than anywhere else.

"I think people come here because it's a wild place," said Ron Clark, chief of resource management at Big Cypress. "It's an ancient place. It's almost prehistoric when you look at some of the wildlife and some of the habitat that's here."

The decision means that 72 percent of the oil and gas rights in Big Cypress will be retired.

Political Decision?

However, because the decision affects the state of Florida — where President Bush's brother Jeb is up for re-election this year as governor — and because Florida was critical to the president's election victory two years ago, there's a current of politics running through the swamp.

At the White House last Wednesday, Gov. Bush said he hoped it would help him in his re-election bid.

"It is good public policy and when there is a convergence of good politics and good public policy," he said. "I don't think we should be ashamed about it."

Some fans of the preserve don't much care if it's politically inspired or not.

"Of course they are saying that because they want to get elected," said Clyde Butcher, an Everglades wildlife photographer. "But … if you're a politician, aren't you supposed to do what the people want?"

In California, however, environmentalists and others would like to see the Bush administration take a similar stand. The White House wants to permit new drilling rights for oil companies there, which is leading some critics to say the Bush administration has one energy policy for Florida and another for the rest of the country.

California's governor, Gray Davis, a Democrat, has written President Bush asking him to extend what Davis calls the president's "vision of coastal protection" to California, where memories of a disastrous 1969 oil spill off Santa Barbara are still vivid.

But while the White House decision may seem a bit murky to some, to lovers of the Florida swamp, it's no time to quibble.

"If Bush thinks this is important, and Jeb thinks it's important, hey, that's great," Butcher said. "That means they are thinking that the wilderness is important and that's a real good step in the right direction."

ABCNEWS' Dean Reynolds and George Pilla contributed to this report.