One of Miami’s most significant threats deals with the impact of climate change due to our low elevation and large population along the coast. According to various scientific reports, including one from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), serious issues such as sea-level rise make South Florida one of the most climate-vulnerable areas in the world.
Although the current administration has weakened environmental policy, including significant rollbacks of the EPA and climate protections, area activists continue to work on strengthening the county’s environmental protections, starting with local legislation.
April 22 is Earth Day, and this environmental roundup will highlight some local issues spearheaded by resident activists and organizations, such as the Urban Paradise Guild, who are driving change for the greater community.
TREE ORDINANCE
As Miami-Dade County works to increase the region’s tree canopy to 30% and strengthen its tree protection legislation, the City of Miami has been doing the opposite.
The final decision on an ordinance sponsored by City of Miami District 1 Commissioner Miguel Gabela, which aims to weaken the city’s tree protection laws by making it easier for residents and developers to remove trees and reallocate funds for canopy restoration, is expected to face further delays.
Following intense public outrage at meetings, the commission deferred the agenda item for the third time during its Dec. 12 meeting to gather additional community input and make minor revisions to the legislation.
Key changes include transferring half of the Tree Trust Fund into a newly created Tree Operating Account for maintaining trees, shrubs, and plants on public property, eliminating the requirement for the city manager to present an annual Tree Trust Fund financial report to the commission, and reducing the tree replacement percentage from 80% to 70%.
(Biscayne Times)
Sandy Moise, director of Education and Policy for the Urban Paradise Guild.
“The Tree Trust Funds should be used for tree replacement, not shrubs and plants,” said Sandy Moise, director of education and policy for the Urban Paradise Guild, adding how this would reduce resources for planting new trees and growing Miami’s urban canopy.
Moise also contends that eliminating the annual Tree Trust Fund financial reports would allow for unchecked spending, effectively stripping away transparency and accountability in how the city manages these funds. A report by WLRN revealed how the city had spent only 20% of those funds between 2015 and 2018, with routine expenditures on clothing for employees.
(Courtesy City of Miami)
The City of Miami's District 5 Commissioner Christine King.
During a community meeting held on March 24, on behalf of District 5 Commissioner Christine King, the city’s assistant director of building, Jose Regalado, revealed how the city is planning to work with Florida State University’s Florida Conflict Resolution Consortium to assist the council in finding a resolution. The division was established by the state in 1987 to help solve public issues.
The FCRC will be conducting public meetings in each district with all stakeholders to bring an unbiased view on the tree ordinance issue, said Regalado.
“This is for the purpose of gaining more information to have a plan and vision,” he told the public.
Since the process is expected to take about six months, King said that city staff will recommend the commission defer or withdraw the item when it appears at the next meeting, likely toward the end of April.
“We are going back to the drawing board,” said King. “I will be leading the meetings to make sure the entirety of District 5 is aware of when the city begins to crack a common sense legislation with respect to not just a tiny issue that was coming before us, but the entirety of what do we do about our trees and where we want them.”
MUNICIPAL TREE CUTTING
Meanwhile, 29 trees have been cut down in the village of Biscayne Park, due to fear of them falling.
(Courtesy Melanie Oliva)
Melanie Oliva, painter, environmental activist, and Biscayne Park resident
On Feb. 20, Melanie Oliva, a Biscayne Park resident and environmental activist, noticed a tree service was cutting down the tall trees near her home along NE 119 Street. She was shocked because although village staff notified the public about their plans to cut trees in the coming months, they clearly stated they would check for wildlife such as birds’ nests before removal. Oliva had seen a family of yellow-crowned night herons that morning.
“I know they had nests there,” she said, adding how the birds are hard to ignore and sometimes caw at her when she nears as a way to protect their nests.
(Courtesy Melanie Olivo)
A pair of yellow-crowned night herons near a nest on an Australian pine tree site near Olivo's home.
The trees being targeted are an invasive species of Australian pine trees, and after one fell over on Jan. 9, the village made it a priority to pass a resolution that would cut all 37 trees in the area.
“Some trees were unhealthy and were rotten on the inside, because Biscayne Park never maintained them,” said Oliva, adding how out of the 10 years she has been living there, not once did she encounter their pruning or trimming.
A letter from the Village Manager’s office stated, “One of the trees, a bird nest has been identified. Observation is being conducted to make sure the nest has been abandoned before any work is performed on the tree. If the nest has not been abandoned, the tree will remain as it is.”
Oliva and her neighbors are furious that even thriving Australian pine trees were cut down, including those sheltering active bird nests and disrupting local wildlife.
“Biscayne Park is known as a tree and bird sanctuary, that’s why we moved here,” she said. “Their bird sanctuary ordinance was one of the first ordinances ever passed when it became a village, so it’s sad that they haven’t considered the wildlife at all.”
Biscayne Park established the village as a bird sanctuary in 1932 with an ordinance that made it unlawful to shoot, trap, or destroy birds within its corporate limits. Cutting down the village's 37 trees allegedly overstepped this rule.
“After they cut down 29 trees already, Biscayne Park is not the same now,” said Oliva. “It's so sunny now, there used to be so much shade, and the residents with trees still near their home don’t want them gone. There has to be a way to keep the eight trees left by pruning them.”
Michael Montuori, operations and IT Manager at Pelican Harbour Seabird Station, said even though Australian pine Trees are invasive, they serve as ideal habitats for birds, such as yellow-crowned night herons, because of their height.
“The night herons like tall trees, and they seem to favor pine trees,” he said. “There aren’t many accessible local pine trees right now, such as Everglades or Pine rock ones. These Australian pines fill this niche for these birds.”
Montuori added a message to the village on behalf of PHSS, which he planned to share at their March 26 commission meeting.
"Waiting until nesting season ends before removing the remaining trees and consulting wildlife experts to minimize the impact would make the process safer for wildlife," he said.
***
During a Special Meeting on March 26, the village decided to halt the removal of the remaining trees and conduct a tree assessment to identify active wildlife. If the assessment confirms the presence of active wildlife, the village will consider preserving the trees.
MANGROVE ISLAND BIRD COLONY
(Courtesy Sandy Moise)
Swaths of local marine birds residing on Mangrove island.
An island across from Morningside Park, toward the northern basin of Biscayne Bay, has become an active nesting site for marine birds.
Moise, who lives in Morningside Park, discovered the island during the 2020 COVID pandemic and has led policy efforts to protect the bird colony from potential harm.
Her advocacy helped get the attention of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which identified the island as a critical nesting ground and declared it a bird colony site in 2023. They also worked with the city to establish protections by putting up signs to keep people out.
Now, Moise is collaborating with Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves Manager Griffin Alexander to secure a permit for installing six buoys 330 feet from the island, creating a protective barrier against boating and human activity that disrupts the birds.
“The issue is that if you get close to the birds' nest, they will abandon their nest, and that’s going to become a problem for their species and their repopulation, especially when they’re an endangered or threatened species,” said Jackeline Bonilla, executive director of the Urban Paradise Guild.
(Courtesy of Sandy Moise)
A visible sign placed by the city to keep people out of Mangrove Island due to the active bird colonies.
Ultimately, Moise is determined to get the city to designate Mangrove Island as a critical wildlife area, which wouldn’t allow any human to step foot on the island. The process would require the city to make that request to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, backed by data to support them.
“We have 14 months of data now,” said Moise. “We’ve documented plenty of disturbance around the island, and two threatened species, the tricolored and little blue heron. Now it’s just a matter of a process that we need to move forward.”
Meanwhile, Moise shared that she partners with the Tropical Audubon Society to conduct monthly island surveys, where they have identified signs of erosion. Her next steps include planting mangroves to stabilize the shoreline and working with the city’s Parks and Recreation director, Chris Evans, to secure funding for the project.
“This work is very slow, but we remain steady and patient,” said Moise.