Cypress Chapter
Izaak Walton League of America
Advocacy
Water
Big Cypress
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We Have the Power to Impact Our Future, and We’re Using It! Join us!
Wild hogs are thriving in the southern end of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, where balance is slowly being restored to one of the most important ecosystems in the world, the Everglades.
Over the past five years, wild hogs have been reestablished in this region as a natural prey base for predators. The goal was simple: help stabilize the ecosystem and prepare the land for the return of white-tailed deer, a species that’s been missing from these areas for decades.
Now, as the Everglades Deer Reintroduction Project begins, these healthy hog populations will be the buffer needed to limit predation on deer, but we still need your help.
Due to the federal government shutdown, a portion of our funding through USGS has been paused, and your support is critical to keep this project moving.
💚 From $25 to $2,500, every contribution helps.
Top donors will even have the chance to visit the project site and see the results firsthand.
👉 Join us and learn more: https://cypressiwla.org/deerfriends
The Cypress Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA) is dedicated to conserving, restoring, and promoting the sustainable use and enjoyment of our natural resources, including soil, air, woods, waters, and wildlife.
View our 2025 Annual Report here
View our 2025 USFWS report here
View our 2024 Annual Report here
S446 prohibiting Big Cypress National Preserve being designated as Wilderness has passed the Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Big Cypress protection from Wilderness designation has made a significant step forward with the passage of S446 by the Energy and Natural Resource Committee
In the ‘Nick’ of time
‘Elf’ partnership with tribes brings deer back to the Everglades BY KELLY J FARRELLkelly.farrell@floridaweekly.com Link to story here Seminole Tribe, Miccouskee Tribe, Cypress Izaak Walton League of America, private landowners and others partner to reintroduce deer...
Conservation at the Capitol January 2026
3rd Annual Conservation at the Capitol – A Unified Voice for Florida Conservation Nearly 30 conservation organizations attending the FWC Commission Meeting in Tallahassee came together for our 3rd Annual Conservation at the Capitol, coordinated by...
As water vanishes Everglades airboat business forced to pull back
Marshall Jones, Cypress IWLA President spoke to Reuters about how drought is effecting Macks Fish Camp airboat business
See the story “As water vanishes Everglades airboat business forced to pull back”
Littoral Zone Expansion
- -Future of earth-moving projects to convert mining pit to "pond" We should hear in June the decision of the FWC Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Program (AHRE) funding to rent an excavator and attachments to do the littoral zone creation improvement...
Pistol Pond Post
A Century of Conservation Leadership
For more than 100 years, the Izaak Walton League has championed effective practical policies, balancing conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. As each chapter across the nation has its focus, the Cypress Chapter is no different. We pride ourselves in jumping in the middle of conservation problems specific to our corner of the world and the Everglades, in particular, the liquid heart of Florida. We are doing something now about issues that will impact the future.
“My mission is to protect the Big Cypress National Preserve and everything connected to her.”
Mike Elfenbein
Executive Director
No one is safe from the effects of environmental destruction. Therefore, conservation and sustainability are everyone’s responsibility. Yet, not all are willing to do what needs to be done and help. Is that you? Or will you join our campaign and lend a hand? The burden of a future for Florida rests on all of our shoulders. Will you help?