Resort pays high fine for destroying mangrove forest that will take 25 years to regrow

Katie Delk, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·3 min read
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A Treasure Coast resort has paid one of the steepest mangrove-cutting fines in state history for illegally cutting about 944 mangrove trees to nubs along the St. Lucie River shoreline. The state also has issued a second fine in the case to an unpermitted West Palm Beach landscaping company.

Sandpiper Bay Resort in Port St. Lucie paid its $110,395 fine on Feb. 15, three weeks before it was due on March 5, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The money will fund water restoration projects throughout the state, DEP officials said.

The next deadline in the resort's extensive punishment is July 9, when it must:

  • Pay to plant 2,780 red, black and white mangrove seedlings and trees in between the remaining roots. TCPalm doesn't know how much that will cost the resort, but "it's not gonna be a cheap price," said Keith Rossin, co-founder of MANG nursery in West Palm Beach, which is supplying the trees that must range between 2-7 feet tall.

  • Give St. Lucie County its plan to restore mangroves at Bear Point Sanctuary, to make up for the damage it did on the other side of the Indian River Lagoon. The resort also must pay $72,000 to the county 60 days after the County Commission approves the mitigation plan.

DEP fines landscaper for cutting mangroves

DEP last month also fined King of Lawns owner Jose Chavez $2,700 for trimming mangroves at the resort without a permit — before other contractors massacred them.

Only DEP-approved professionals can trim mangrove trees that are 10 feet or taller, and Chavez was not permitted for such work. He has until March 13 to appeal or sign the Feb. 22 DEP order, then pay the fine in six $450 installments. He declined to comment to TCPalm.

The remnants of mangrove tree roots are seen along the shoreline of the St. Lucie River at the Sandpiper Bay Resort as a construction crew works on a swimming pool, on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, in Port St. Lucie. The state-protected trees were hacked down, and now provide an open view of the river from the resort.
The remnants of mangrove tree roots are seen along the shoreline of the St. Lucie River at the Sandpiper Bay Resort as a construction crew works on a swimming pool, on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, in Port St. Lucie. The state-protected trees were hacked down, and now provide an open view of the river from the resort.

DEP declined to say whether the work Chavez did would have been legal with a permit.

Independent workers the resort hired after Chavez were the ones who mangled the mangrove forest, DEP said. Those individuals will not be fined separately from the resort, DEP said.

No one — even professionals with permits — can cut mangrove trees to be shorter than 6 feet tall. The resort's contractors hacked nearly a half-acre of shoreline in May — a swath equal to the 951-foot-long Caribbean Princess cruise ship.

DEP investigators found healthy red and black mangroves measuring 15-26 feet long in resort dumpsters. Sand unloaded over the roots had no barrier to keep the fill from washing into the river. That can smother seagrasses, which are havens for juvenile fish and the main food of manatees.

Sandpiper Bay Resort crackdown

Store Capital Acquisitions LLC owns the resort and leases it to Altitude Hospitality LLC, which bought the former Club Med in 2022, according to DEP and county records. Neither owner has responded to TCPalm’s multiple calls and emails seeking comment since May.

The resort blamed a tornado for yanking out the trees, DEP reports say; however, the National Weather Service told TCPalm there was no twister. At worst, a tornado more likely would have removed the trees’ leaves, not entirely knocked down nearly 1,000 trees, said Stuart-based Florida Oceanographic Society scientist Lorae Simpson.

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The owners also said they didn’t know Florida law protects mangroves or that they needed a permit or a professional trimmer to cut them, DEP reports say.

The mangrove forest could take at least 25 years to return to its former glory, Rossin said. DEP will monitor the resort and restoration work for five years.

Katie Delk is an environmental reporter for TCPalm. Contact her at katie.delk@tcpalm.com or 772-408-5301. Check for updates at @katie_delk.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Sandpiper Bay Resort in PSL pays DEP fine for cutting mangrove trees