MIAMI— Conservation groups warned government agencies in a legal filing today that they’re breaking the law by failing to protect the Big Cypress National Preserve from the increasingly destructive effects of the mass detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent to sue that details federal and state failures to protect wetlands, endangered wildlife and ecological resources. These legal violations are in addition to others the groups documented in their June 27 lawsuit.

Today’s filing describes how federal and state agencies — including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Federal Emergency Management Agency — have unlawfully bypassed Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act protections. It also demonstrates that the National Park Service has failed to take the actions required to defend the Big Cypress National Preserve from damages caused by the construction and operation of the mass detention facility.

The agencies, which are already in court for violating the National Environmental Policy Act, have 60 days to remedy the legal violations before the groups sue them for these additional violations.

“This mass detention center was ramrodded into the middle of our country’s oldest national preserve with no public input, no environmental analysis — and no regard for the billions of dollars invested in Everglades restoration,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “Our government has gone rogue by ignoring cherished laws that protect our nation’s water, wildlife and national parks.”

The detention center site is surrounded on all sides by the Big Cypress National Preserve, one of America’s first national preserves, which protects ecologically sensitive wetlands and a dozen endangered and threatened species, including endangered Florida panthers and Florida bonneted bats. Florida panthers have been documented on the very site where the detention center now sits. The preserve is an internationally recognized dark sky park with one of the darkest night skies in the eastern United States — before the stadium-like lights of “Alligator Alcatraz” started blazing this month.

“The Everglades and its native wildlife are crucial to Florida’s identity and economy, and this cruel detention center is a massive threat to our natural heritage,” said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “From marl prairies to iconic Florida panthers, our state’s natural riches are now at risk, and we won’t let the federal government drive our most endangered species closer to extinction.”

The massive immigration detention center is being built and operated at breakneck speed in the middle of Big Cypress National Preserve and threatens the fragile ecosystem of the Everglades. Since the groups filed their lawsuit, more destructive activities have been observed at the site, including new paving, light pollution visible from miles away and apparent pesticide spraying.

“It’s unconscionable that state and federal officials have shown complete disregard for our nation’s core environmental protections, especially in this environmentally sensitive place,” said Tania Galloni, managing attorney for the Florida office of Earthjustice. “We will use every legal tool to protect America’s Everglades from this madness.”

While the facility is marketed as being temporary, the evidence suggests that isn’t true. Previously unimproved sections of the area have been filled and paved, roads have been added and expanded, and the night sky over Big Cypress now has a glow that is visible from at least 15 miles away.

The groups originally sued in U.S. District Court to protect the Everglades from the reckless plan to house thousands of detainees on a lightly used airstrip known as the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, two hours west of Miami and one hour west of Naples. The site was commandeered by the state of Florida from Miami-Dade County under an emergency order issued three years ago regarding migrants.

The June 27 lawsuit was filed against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Miami-Dade County.

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity are nonpartisan, not-for-profit organizations working to protect the Everglades from the threat of water and light pollution and other harm posed by this detention center and to protect endangered species on the site surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve.

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity are represented by Scott Hiaasen, Paul Schwiep, Earthjustice and Center attorneys.