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Article Courtesy of The
Daytona Beach News-Journal
By Abigail Mercer
Published September 11, 2020
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Almost nine months after 500 mangrove trees in Wilbur-By-The-Sea were illegally
cut, chainsawed at the waist, little growth has occurred. Where there was once
eight feet of thriving mangroves stretching out across the Wilbur Boathouse,
there are now hundreds of mangroves struggling to grow again, bright green
leaves stretching upward acting as the only noticeable improvement from where
they’d been cut down.
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Ashley Gardener,
spokesperson for the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, said everything was going “as expected.”
The Wilbur Improvement Association, Inc. was identified as
one of three responsible parties for the alteration of the
mangroves in January, DEP officials said. The improvement
association is essentially a voluntary homeowner’s
association for Wilbur-by-the-Sea. Also responsible was
Holly Hill-based SB Tree Service, and Peter Zarcone,
president of an Ocala building and roofing company and the
individual that hired the landscaper.
In March, Gardener said all three responsible parties had
been issued consent orders and fines: Zarcone was fined a
total of $5,559 in penalties, SB Tree Service was fined
$6,000 and the improvement association was fined $4,849.
SB Tree Service paid
its fee, and its consent order was closed. Zarcone is
currently making monthly payments in the amount of $500, and
the Wilbur Improvement Association also paid its fee, as
well as submitted its restoration plan and began
implementing it. |
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Mangroves in the 4200 block of S.Peninsula Drive that
were illegally cut in January.
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“The plan called for 300 black mangroves to be replanted, along with 19 red
mangroves, 484 spartina bakeri, and 57 spartina patens,” Gardener said. “The
first quarterly report was submitted in July and it shows the site is
progressing and in compliance. The site will continue to be monitored and
reports will be submitted to the Department on a quarterly basis.”
An inspection report from the DEP said the mangrove trees were originally
cut to about 3.5 feet tall in a stretch of just over 550 feet along the
marshy area along the Halifax River’s east shoreline. Since then, they’ve
hardly grown.
According to Bob Mills, president of the Wilbur Improvement Association,
Zarcone came to him for permission to hire a tree trimming service, and was
told that was acceptable as long as he received a permit from the county and
hired licensed professionals.
“We gave a limited okay for limited trimming. They didn’t do anything
correctly,” Mills said when the trees were first trimmed. “This is going to
take months or even years to recover from.”
Mangroves, which are protected by the state, are known to foster important
habitats for fish and birds and are considered to be of great ecological
importance, which is why they’re monitored closely by the DEP.
There are about 469,000 acres of mangrove trees in Florida, according to the
DEP’s website. Their importance “cannot be overemphasized,” because of their
ability to cycle and trap different organisms, nutrients and chemicals
through their expansive root system. In addition, roots provide homes and
attachment surfaces for animals, and act as nurseries for fish, shellfish
and crustaceans.
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