Cypress trees dominate the forested wetlands that occupy about 1.6 million acres or 5 percent of the state of Florida’s landscape, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension website. The most flood-tolerant of all Florida tree species, cypress is the largest tree in North America east of the Rocky Mountains and can live for hundreds of years. The Corps protects such aquatic resources through its regulatory program; Jacksonville District’s is the largest program in the nation.