Over the years, my appreciation of mangroves has grown as I more fully understand their critical importance.
If you’re an angler, the significance of mangroves is evident. Intertwined with the twisted roots, there’s a web of life that’s inextricably bound to the snook, redfish, trout, flounder, grouper and a plethora of other gamefish that you seek.
Even if you don’t fish or spend time on the water, it’s important to realize that mangroves are a critical source of the seafood you enjoy. They are also essential habitat to the seabirds you might enjoy as a bird watcher and they provide sustenance for manatees, dolphins, sea turtles and innumerable other species.
Mangroves also protect and sustain a vibrant economy in ways that might not be apparent. The general public is just beginning to appreciate how mangroves provide protection against powerful hurricanes and rising sea level. With all that mangroves provide us and our quality of life, it would seem they would be revered and protected at all costs. Unfortunately, just the opposite seems to be the case.
In a previous column, I wrote about numerous large, mature mangroves that had been cut, were denuded of leaves, and appeared dead along the shoreline of Sarasota Bay where Medallion Homes was and still is developing Aqua by the Bay. This large-scale mixed-use project spans roughly 523 acres, with proposals for thousands of residential units and tens of thousands of square feet of commercial space, situated along more than two miles of Sarasota Bay shoreline.
In December 2022, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a proposed consent order that fined Long Bar Pointe LLLP and Medallion Homes developer Carlos Beruff’s companies $8,500 for illegal mangrove trimming at the development. Was that simply the cost of doing business?
Inspections conducted on June 17 and Aug. 25 of that year found those mangroves had more than 25% of their foliage cut, trimmings were not properly disposed of and photo documentation of the work was not provided as required.
Now Beruff is requesting a permit that environmentalists, fishermen and residents of nearby Cortez fear may one day doom this old-growth mangrove forest.
Perhaps no one appreciates the potential harm such a project might create more than Cortez resident Paul Dryfoos.
Paul recently sent me an email that said, “As a resident of Cortez, vice president of the Cortez Village Historical Society and lifetime member of FISH (Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage), I am extremely concerned about Long Bar Pointe LLC’s application for approval to infill three acres of wetlands and build a huge 10-foot seawall directly adjacent to one of our last remaining old-growth mangrove forests in the Sarasota Bay watershed.
This project would compromise the immediate ecosystem that enables Cortez to survive as a working fishing community. Cortez villagers and friends have invested significant time, energy and resources over the past 40+ years securing, restoring and enhancing the Cortez FISH Preserve – 98 acres of environmentally sensitive land encompassing an old-growth mangrove forest. Now we see an adjacent old-growth mangrove forest threatened by development.
“The Corps should deny the permit pending assurances that the project can be modified to avoid harming our precious wetlands. Clearly, the proposed buildings could be moved several dozens or hundreds of feet inland on the more than 400-acre site. Therefore, the developer bears the burden under federal law of proving that a less damaging alternative is not available. The law requires a less damaging alternative if one is available.
“Cortez’s identity and economy are deeply tied to the health of the Sarasota Bay estuary, and the mangroves are the critical barrier protecting that system. The proposed seawall and infill threaten to destroy acres of these vital wetlands, which serve as nurseries for fish and shellfish, buffer our shoreline from storms, and define the unique character of our community. Losing them means losing the very resource base that supports Cortez’s culture and livelihood,” Dryfoos wrote.
The Suncoast Waterkeeper organization, of which I am a member, also tells an important side of the story in its July newsletter, in an article titled “Last Remaining Old-Growth Wetlands Threatened by Permit Application.” The article can be found at suncoastwaterkeeper.org/july_2026_newsletter.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is accepting public comments on this permit application (SAJ-2015-015030) through Aug. 7. I can’t overstate the importance of commenting on this proposal to readers who value our marine habitat.
Public comment can be submitted by visiting this website and scrolling down, or to the next page, to the Long Bar Pointe LLLP project item, as seen below.
Related coverage: Public comment sought for Aqua’s proposed gabion wall
