The swamp once yielded much cypress timber. Through
overharvesting and a disastrous
peat fire in 1930, much of its vegetation was destroyed. One of the fires burned for eight months, leading it to be deemed the "Burnt Swamp" by local residents. In 1980, Senator
Joe Biden, at the request of environmentalists, proposed that the swamp be made into a
National Park; this plan was met with resistance from local residents concerned about being overwhelmed with large numbers of visitors. When Senator
Tom Carper revisited the idea of creating a national park in Delaware in 2004, the Cypress Swamp was not considered because of these concerns. The non-profit organization
Delaware Wild Lands manages the swamp and has undertaken efforts to replant
bald cypress trees there. ==Ecological value==