Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act

The bill would amend the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act to add Osceola Camp — a specific area within Everglades National Park in Florida — to the definition of the Miccosukee Reserved Area (MRA). The expansion would be defined by a named map on file with the National Park Service, Miami-Dade County, and the Miccosukee Tribe.

It would also direct the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, to take appropriate actions within two years of enactment to protect structures within Osceola Camp from flooding. The bill does not appropriate specific funds for that work, and it does not otherwise alter the broader governance structure of the MRA or Everglades National Park.

The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, whose reserved land base within Everglades National Park would be formally expanded to include Osceola Camp. The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service would be directed to take flood-protection actions and maintain map copies for public inspection.

For the Miccosukee Tribe, formal inclusion of Osceola Camp in the MRA provides legal recognition of their use and rights in that area. The flooding-protection mandate could safeguard tribal structures that sit in a low-lying wetland environment, where flooding poses an ongoing threat to habitability and cultural continuity.

The Secretary of the Interior would be required to consult with the Miccosukee Tribe and determine "appropriate actions" to protect Osceola Camp structures from flooding within two years of enactment. The bill does not prescribe specific engineering or mitigation measures, leaving discretion to the agency. The authoritative boundary of the expanded MRA would be set by a named July 2023 map, copies of which must be kept available for public inspection at the National Park Service and filed with Miami-Dade County and the Tribe.