Participants in the Walk for Mother Earth march 75 miles to protest a planned bike trail in the Everglades of Florida. Photo by Robin Haines / Facebook

Members of Florida tribes are wrapping up a five-day walk in protest of a bike trail through their homelands in the Everglades.

Members of the Miccosukee Tribe say the River of Grass Greenway will harm the environment. Along with supporters, they walked 75 miles along the same path as part of the Walk for Mother Earth.

“We’re seeing this as a desecration,” tribal member Houston Cypress, an organizer of the Love the Everglades Movement, told The Miami Herald. “It’s so invasive. Why not use resources already in place?”

The National Park Service has asked Miami-Dade County to study the trail, which could cost anywhere between $75 million and $140 million. News reports do not say whether the Miccosukee Tribe or the Seminole Tribe have taken a position even though the route would pass through their lands.

Get the Story:
Bike trail across the Everglades draws protests (The Miami Herald 4/2)
Protecting the Everglades prompts walk to Miami (NBC 3/29)
For Florida Indian Tribes, Everglades Bike Path a Threat (Newsweek 3/28)