Page values for "IRLNews:2020/01/21/Mangroves Cut in Volusia's Wilbur-By-The-Sea"

Wilbur-by-the-Sea includes street after street of finely manicured lawns, often accented with brightly colored flowers and decorations. Boats and well-maintained cars dot the driveways of S. Peninsula Drive.

But residents are upset by what they call an ugly sight marring their idyllic view of the Halifax River. Where mangrove trees once stood 8 feet high there is now a swath of cut branches for several hundred feet, evidence that trimmers recently chainsawed through the area at the waist.

Approximately 500 mangrove trees along the Halifax River in Wilbur-By-The-Sea were illegally cut in a form of “significant non-compliance,” Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials confirmed last week. They added that those responsible could be paying six-figure fines.

The Wilbur Improvement Association, Inc. was identified as one of three responsible parties for the alteration of the mangroves, DEP officials said. The improvement association serves as a voluntary homeowner’s association for Wilbur-by-the-Sea.

Also responsible is SB Tree Service — a Holly Hill-based service — and Peter Zarcone, president of an Ocala building and roofing company and the individual that hired the landscaper.

Zarcone admitted to hiring the tree trimming service, but otherwise declined comment, including why he wanted the mangroves trimmed in the first place. He is building a house in unincorporated Wilbur-by-the-Sea across the street from where the mangroves were cut.

“Bob [Mills] is handling things,” Zarcone said. “We’re good to go.”

Bob Mills, president of the Wilbur Improvement Association, said the situation is a tragedy.

“It’s terrible. Heartbreaking,” Mills said. “We’re working with (the DEP) to develop a restoration plan. Everyone is destroyed by this.”

SB Tree Service representatives did not make themselves available for comment, despite a reporter’s repeated attempts to contact them, including going to their place of business.

According to SB Tree service’s website, they “believe in doing things the right way.” However, they’re not licensed to trim mangrove trees, DEP’s investigative report states.

“We run our business on the principles of integrity, honesty, and quality,” the company’s website states.

Mangrove trimming is regulated by state law because of the important environmental impact the plants have on the Florida ecological system.

“Mangroves serve as a key ecological component in several ecosystems, including serving as a nursery for many game and sport fisheries, and the Department takes any unauthorized trimming or alteration of mangroves very seriously,” said Ashley Gardener, a spokesperson for the DEP. “We will be pursuing enforcement against the responsible parties, which will include monitoring, a full restoration plan and monetary fines.”

Florida Statutes 403.9321-403.9334 — known as the Mangrove Act — state that permits are required to be submitted to the county where the mangroves would be trimmed.

Kevin Captain, interim community information director with Volusia County, said no one submitted a permit to trim the mangroves. Even if they had submitted a permit, Captain said it’s unlikely the county would have given permission for the trees to be trimmed so far down.

Mills said Zarcone went about the process incorrectly. Zarcone went to Mills for permission to hire a tree trimming service, and Mills said he told Zarcone 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. “This is going to take months or even years to recover from.”

An inspection report from the DEP indicates the mangrove trees are now about 3.5 feet tall in a stretch of just over 550 feet along the marshy area along the river’s east shoreline in Wilbur-by-the-Sea.

Gardener said the details of the penalties, as well as the restoration plan, are still being evaluated. But according to the Mangrove Act, for every illegally altered mangrove tree, Volusia County can impose up to $250 in fines. With approximately 500 mangroves, that amounts to $125,000.

There are about 469,000 acres of mangrove trees in the state of Florida, according to the DEP’s website.

Mills said the damage was like nothing he’d seen before.

“It used to be absolutely beautiful.”