New College Thesis

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​Trim Talk

The following paper was delivered at the 30th Annual Conference on Ecosystems Restoration and Creation.
Sponsored by Hillsborough Community College, Institute of Florida Studies.

MANGROVE TRIMMING IN THE SARASOTA BAY AREA 1970-2003:
REFLECTIONS ON 30 YEARS OF MANGROVE TRIMMING ON THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA 

Tom Mayers
Lands End Marina Inc. DBA/ Mangrove Cultivation
7250 Gulf of Mexico Drive
Longboat Key, Florida 34228

    I am a native of Florida. I was born in Tampa and moved to Longboat Key as a child. I have lived by a dock on a bayou with mangroves all of my life. I began studying mangroves about 1970 with Dr. John Morrill at New College. One of my projects was to trim mangroves for developers who wanted to trim them legally. For 30 years I have offered this service to clients. In 30 years I have trimmed more than 10 miles of shoreline and have never been in violation of the law.

    I have designed mangrove trimming plans for a development of 50 waterfront houses where house values range from $1,000,000.00 to $5,000,000.00. I work with homeowners to help them to apply for permits; I also do exotic tree removal from mangrove areas. I often use a boat that I designed and built specifically for trimming mangroves where it is necessary. In 1991 I wrote a thesis at New College of Sarasota Florida titled Sarasota Bay Mangroves 1991: Past Alterations and Future Possibilities.

    I believe that it is important that we nurture the natural environment that we have left here on the West Coast of Florida. A healthy environment helps to make healthy people, insures high real estate values, provides habitat for our interesting wildlife, acts as a filter and buffer for human pollution, and is good for fishing. Good mangrove laws, fairly applied, will help insure the prosperity of the West Coast of Florida in the future.

    I have been trimming mangroves on the West Coast of Florida since 1970. I am a Florida native, born in Tampa and raised on Longboat Key. I have lived all of my life on the same piece of family-owned property for 50 years. That property has a boat dock with mangroves on the shoreline. About 1900 my Great, Great Uncle John Savarese owned the “Mistletoe”, the first steamship to go from Tampa to Sarasota on a regular basis. He founded Tampa Yacht Club and had the largest fish house in the Southeastern United States in Tampa. He had a dredge from Tampa dredge the canal where I live at the North End of Longboat Key in 1913.

    Environmental Studies is a regionally specific subject. I would not want to call myself an environmental expert and offer advice on what to do about the environment in Alaska. Often people with a biology degree from New York or Chicago come down to Florida and after a few years call themselves an environmental expert here.

    I began studying Ecology at Florida State University in 1969. There was an Ecology course that was taught in tandem by several professors. It was required for my core group of freshman students. When I transferred to New College in Sarasota Florida I met John Morrill PhD. He specialized in Embryology and electron microscopy. I studied mangroves with him on and off for 20 years. In 1991 I wrote my senior thesis, Sarasota Bay Mangroves 1991: Past Alterations and Future Possibilities, and graduated from New College.

    In 1971, I began my first year of study at New College with John and a tutorial on mangroves. He suggested that I begin my study by writing a bibliography of all the books and articles that I could find on mangroves. After I completed that, he suggested that I obtain all of these books and articles that I could find and that I write a report on each one that I read. I would bring the reports in to my weekly tutorial meetings with him and we would discuss the books and articles.

    Later on, he encouraged me to take a Field Botany course, to do my own studies of mangroves, and to take classes where we would visit “spoil islands” around the bay and run transects and map them. One of my experiments was to use a garden hose to remove a small mangrove from its substrate. After doing this, I measured the extensive root system, took photos, and wrote a paper on the results of the enquiry.

    Another study was to look into the effects of mangrove trimming. For this enquiry I made a cross to place next to the plants and made photographs of before and after the trimming. This cross gave an immediate reference to a given size so that the measurements of the tree could be easily analyzed. Later, when working on my thesis, I used a large cross (15 feet by 10 feet) to illustrate the relative size of the trees in photographs. This technique is highly accurate when analyzing large areas of mangrove shoreline. I have in my own way continued this mangrove trimming study to this day.

    This early mangrove trimming experiment was conducted on an 8-acre piece of property that my family owned at the North End of Longboat Key. They had bought this property in order to develop it and sell waterfront lots. With a large waterfront, with a mangrove shoreline, the seawall solution seemed cost prohibitive. Seawalls were expensive then and are even more expensive today. With the new interest in mangrove trimming, we decided that the trimmed mangroves alternative would be a large money savings at the critical early stage of the development and would be more environmentally friendly. So, my first involvement in mangrove trimming was based on a selfish interest to save money. I only trimmed a few of the mangroves then and most of that shoreline has not been trimmed to this day. The homes there are selling for over $1,000,000.00 each today, with untrimmed mangroves in front of them.

    John Morrill was a pioneer in the field of mangrove trimming. In 1971, he got me jobs trimming mangroves for developers who wanted to keep the mangroves in front of their planned developments. These were some of the earliest, large-scale mangrove trimming projects in our area. These projects ranged in size from 100 yards to 1/4 mile of shoreline. Some of the projects were done out of economic and ecological sensibility and some were forced on the developers by the DNR, which was the regulatory agency then. I worked with crews with as many as a dozen people. We had two people with small chainsaws cutting and 10 people pulling out cut branches. We cut the mangroves to specifications given to me by John.

    These specifications were very similar to those that we use today under the current law. Trees less than 2 inches diameter at breast height (dbh) were considered small trees and were cut to a 6 foot high hedge. Trees larger than 2 inches dbh were considered large trees and we would only trim branches in the under story, that is the lower 50% of the tree. This produced a pleasant effect with a 6-foot hedge and bonsai looking trees. This served the purpose well, providing a view slot between the hedge and the upper story of the trees.

    Over the past 30 years some of these original configurations have changed. Often attrition is at work. That is, as each year’s trimming was done, the original trees would gradually be cut out, leaving only the 6-foot hedge. This 6-foot hedge often was reduced to a four-foot hedge over time. Under the new law the small trees, under 24 feet, could be allowed to be cut to a 6 foot hedge.

    My purpose when trimming mangroves is to produce a visually attractive configuration that fits into the current law. I always take great care to trim the lower branches off the tall trees in a way that makes them aesthetically pleasing. I also am careful to make transitions between trimming zones in order to avoid right angle cuts that show where a hedge stops and untrimmed area begins. By not cutting a straight line while hedging you can give an untrimmed look to a new hedge. On a hedge, I will purposefully cut the trees at heights that vary from 6 inches to 1 foot in order to give the hedge a natural as opposed to a man made look. In John Morrill’s words “A good mangrove trimming should be like a good hair cut, when it is done you can’t tell that it has just been done.”

    It is important to understand that the resultant trimmed mangroves are a dominant component of the landscaping theme of the home. When you realize that many homeowners will spend as much as $5,000.00 to $10,000.00 for a single palm tree, it makes the cost of a good mangrove trimming seem small. A real estate agent once told me that my sensitive pruning of one of my large projects had helped to insure the success of the project. Never underestimate the value of visual appeal. A good mangrove-trimming job can enhance the value of a property. A bad mangrove-trimming job can take away from the value of a property. A violation can pass on a legacy of scrutiny by the DEP and can restrict the ability of future owners to trim their mangroves.

    I had lunch a few weeks ago with John Morrill, who is now semi-retired, and told him that I was going to speak on mangrove trimming. He said to tell you that he has seen a problem lately. The people trimming mangroves at the development where he lives were using manual pole saws to trim at a 12 to 14 foot height. As they move the saw back and forth, the top of the tree breaks off when they are about one half of the way through. This leaves a ragged, uneven cut at the top of these trees. He said that it would be better if they would use sharp clippers or machine operated chain saws in order to leave a clean cut instead of the splintered ends. We also discussed the new DEP handbook on mangrove trimming. We both agreed that it was a good effort to describe a fairly complicated subject.

    After telling you about the cross that can be used to help accurately depict the size of trees in photographs, I want to give you some other tips on mangrove trimming. I use a 1 1/2 inch in diameter dowel pole that is 15 feet long to help me in my mangrove trimming. At one end of the pole is a securely fastened large, dulled fishhook (1 inch from tip to shank). There are two black bands on the pole, one at 5 feet up the pole, and one at 10 feet. This pole is very useful in retrieving cut branches from the trees and the water, which in many cases is a requirement of the law and the homeowners. Sometime I take more time retrieving branches from the trees and from the water than I take to cut the branches. It also can be used to pole the boat while you are working and it can help in determining heights of the trees. When I stand next to a tall tree with my arm at full extension, with the pole upright in my hand, that height measurement is 22 feet and fairly accurate.

    Another suggestion that I have is to make square cuts where possible. There are many discussions of this subject in books on pruning. I base my recommendation on 30 years of experience. You will be cutting through less material with a square cut compared to the longer diagonal cut. This is faster and less wear on the chain. It also exposes less cut area. Also, you do not want to be impaled while working. There is no sense in making lots of sharp spears in your work area that could be hazardous to your health. I work almost exclusively with Stihl extension chain saws of 6 ft. and 12 ft. It is inevitable that you will make diagonal cuts with these saws when reaching up above you at full extension. That is okay because there is little danger of sharp points at that high height. You must, however, be careful of the sharp cut spears falling after they are cut.

    After saying that I work almost exclusively with pole chain saws, I need to add that in some cases I work all day with just clippers. There are some cases where it is faster and easier with clippers. For example, when I am hedging the waterside of a hedge. It is easier and faster to cut with the clippers and bring each branch into the boat as you cut it. The alternative of cutting with a chain saw and then retrieving branches from the water with the pole can take longer and take more effort

    I began my understanding of the mangrove-trimming subject with some basic premises. The first is that the mangroves are important to offset human population growth. They act as giant filters to offset some of the human caused pollution. They act as a visual filter so that homeowners don’t have to stare at each other across a seawall-lined canal. I have found this very important in having a sense of privacy at my house. I prefer to look at the mangroves and the birds that live in them rather than to stare at all the boats that pass by and the fisherman that fish our bayou. If you view the mangroves as a giant filter, and consider our current population growth rate, you can compare this condition to a fish tank analogy. If you want a healthy fish tank, you don’t want to reduce the filter size while you are adding a lot more fish. This simple analogy illustrates why the mangroves need laws protecting them and how the mangroves help us.

    Another premise basic to my understanding of mangroves is the basic biological premise that the amount of animals that inhabit an environment is directly proportional to the amount of habitat that exists. That means that if we have reduced the amount of mangroves that exist on Sarasota Bay by 50%, as my study and subsequent studies have found, we have reduced the animal population that inhabit mangroves by 50%. This is what the DEP is telling people when they say that it is important to protect the mangroves: mangroves = wildlife.

    On the West Coast of Florida we have one of the largest population growth rates in the USA. On the island where I live, Longboat Key, we had 1000 residents in 1960. Today, we have about 20,000. If you think that that seems to be an unusually large growth rate for 40 years, it is the same rate as for the State of Florida. In 1960 Florida had a population of about 1 million people. Today, it has a population of about 20 million. Mangroves are definitely an answer to help offset this rapid growth.

    Along with this growth we have some of the highest property values in the USA. These property values are dependent on a healthy environment. It is a selfish effort on our part to protect the mangroves. Humans are seldom completely philanthropic in their actions. We want to protect the environment so that we don’t kill the proverbial goose that laid the golden egg. It is better that we enjoy the eggs of a prosperous economy with rich and healthy environmental values and interesting wildlife with their natural habitat. We are not only preserving these mangrove areas for the birds and fish. We are preserving them for ourselves. Good, fairly applied, mangrove laws can insure that this prosperity will not change in the near future.

    These mangrove laws allow homeowners that live on the water to trim the mangroves to improve their view and access to the bay. One homeowner told me “I like the environment. I love the environment. I just want to see the environment”. This is one of the great quotes of my clients. Over 30 years of trimming mangroves I have learned a lot from my clients. One man told me that he was retired and that his house was a major investment for him. He believed that his permit to trim his mangroves to a 6-foot hedge was very valuable to him. He estimated the value at about $100,000.00 of being able to trim the mangroves on his shoreline to a 6-foot hedge, when all his neighbors couldn’t. I believe that he is correct in that estimation. In his development, houses sold for from $1,000,000.00 to $5,000,000.00. It was easy to see that his unfettered view, with the only 6-foot hedge, without tall trees, would set his house aside as having the best view. This in turn would attract people looking for that perfect view.

    Sometime clients look to me to advise them on the condition of their site, rather than calling on the county authority or the DEP. One day a Frenchman, who spoke in broken English, paid me to make an initial consulting visit. When we looked at his beautiful house set in the middle of a 35 ft. tall mangrove forest, there was a dock that went about 100 feet from the house to the water. On either side of the dock was about a 10 to 20 ft. wide swath of mangroves cut to about 2 foot stumps. What he wanted me to do was to walk by this mangrove destruction and to look at more mangroves that he wanted to trim further out. When I asked about a permit he said that he had none. When I asked about the mangroves that were destroyed on either side of the dock, he said that he didn’t speak Spanish and that the workers that did the trimming did not speak English or French, but that he thought that he understood them to say that they understood the mangrove laws. I told him that this past mangrove trimming could be considered a serious violation of the law and that the fine could be high. My recommendation to him was that he should not call the DEP for an opinion and that he should not cut the mangroves any more. I told him that I could not be involved where there was a serious infraction that had not been resolved. I protect my clients by giving them advice without them having to go to the county or state agencies that may charge them with a violation and a fine.

    I talked to Katherine Gilbert with the Florida DEP about some minor technical issues having to do with mangrove trimming. I told her that these particular issues were not very important compared to a policy of non-enforcement. There seems to be a tendency for the DEP to concentrate on education, as illustrated by the effort in producing the “Mangrove Trimming Guidelines for Homeowners” and restoration projects lately. It is important to understand that if you do not enforce the law in a regular way, it teaches people to disobey the law. Homeowners and homeowners associations that break the law and are trimming illegally tell other homeowners and homeowners associations that they are crazy to follow the law. Why bother to go through the trouble to get a permit when it is so easy to break the law and not have any problems.

    In 1996 the Mangrove Law made the Florida DEP the sole regulatory agency for mangrove trimming in Florida unless a city or county applied for and received local delegation. In our area, on the West Coast, near Manatee and Sarasota Counties, the DEP is the sole authority. As the State regulatory agency, they are required by law to be fair, to apply the law evenly, and to not be capricious. It is clear why the regulatory agencies of the State have this requirement. Uneven, unfair application of the law can cause confusion to the public and can cause a condition that might encourage corruption. I have told you about the one homeowner that told me that his permit to trim his mangroves to a 6-foot hedge provided him with $100,000.00 value to his real estate investment. Imagine the potential value to a developer. It could easily be a $1,000,000.00 economic value on a large development. I believe that it is important that the DEP be held to a high level of scrutiny in their administration of the mangrove law.

    In their position of administrators of the law the DEP agents are like the agents of the local city and county building departments. This is a comparable situation where the agents monitor the building codes to make sure that zoning laws are upheld. People can gain real economic value by breaking zoning laws and mangrove trimming laws. If two storey houses are going up in areas where they are not zoned, that is unfair to others that went through the legal process of obtaining a building permit and are restraining themselves from breaking the law. The same is true with mangrove trimming.

    I have been asked to trim developments that do not have permits in a situation that would normally require one. When I asked the DEP if I was able to trim the mangroves for the development without getting a permit, I was told no. The next day another mangrove trimmer was trimming those mangroves in violation of the law. I would have liked to trim the mangroves there but was told that I could not. This is what I mean by uneven application of the law. Why can one person break the law while another is required to follow it?
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    Each individual that trims according to the law should be rewarded for doing that. Today people who are breaking the law are being rewarded by non-enforcement. People go to a lot of trouble to get a permit. It may cost, as much as $1000.00 to $5000.00 to have a professional mangrove trimmer help apply for a permit for an individual or development without any guarantee that they will be granted a permit. There are many good people who are going through this process because they do not want to break the law.

    The reason for requiring permits is so that the regulatory agency can monitor and keep track of the mangrove shoreline. If large developments with large amounts of mangroves are not required to have permits, then it is difficult to tell what has happened there. The required photographs, overhead and profile view drawings, scale drawings and other descriptive information can help the DEP to see where violations occur. Without this information, how can the DEP monitor mangrove destruction fairly?

    When I trim the mangroves for a client, I am careful to I trim the mangroves legally. It is true that the intent to trim the mangroves legally is one of the most important characteristics of a good mangrove trimmer. I worked on a large job once as the supervisor of the head of maintenance for the condominium and his crew of workers. When I talked to the workers I said, “When you have a question about whether to cut a branch or not, leave it”. Then the head of maintenance said, “I tell them that if they have a question, then cut it.” These two views show the difference in being careful and not being careful. The next day I was told that my supervision was no longer needed.

    John Morrill gave me some good advice. He said, “Always do what you believe in and always try to walk the straight and narrow”. In this case doing what I believe in is following the State mangrove law. I have lost a lot of jobs to trimmers who will trim illegally in order to get a job, but fortunately there have always been clients that want to trim legally.

    Along with the mangrove trimming I also do exotic tree removal. This is a requirement of permitted trimming and helps the mangroves that are out competed by Brazilian pepper, Australian pine trees, and native vines. People ask me if trimming the mangroves help them. If I remove these exotics and vines from the mangroves it helps them. Often the mangroves are killed by heavy vine growth.

    There is a natural pruning of the mangroves that occurs in heavy windstorms. After a hurricane there are often many branches that are broken off and the tree trunk remains to continue to grow. This natural sloughing off of large branches is an example of natural pruning. Mangroves are phototropic and grow toward the sunlight. This causes them to grow out and over into the canals. This is one reason that the white mangroves get so tall and spindly. When these trees grow at a 45-degree angle out over the canal in order to get more sun, they often break off and fall into the water. This is another form of natural pruning of the mangroves.

    I would like to make what I believe to be an original observation about mangroves and sea level rise. I noted in my thesis that sea grasses seem to inhabit areas that were previously mangrove areas. I did some helicopter videotaping when I was working on my thesis. These videotapes were donated to State, county, and city agencies in order to help them to view the mangroves. When flying over the bay-shore there seemed to be an obvious correlation between the historic mangrove areas and the present day sea grass beds. For those of you interested in the effects of sea level rise this could be an interesting thesis topic.
I have donated a copy of my thesis Sarasota Bay Mangroves 1991: Past Alterations and Future Possibilities to the Hillsborough Community College Environmental Studies Department library.

    One day at New College John Morrill told me that the sea grasses lose their leaves at one time of the year, the mangroves lose their leaves at another time of the year, and the buttonwood trees lose their leaves at yet another time of the year. They all fertilize each other. This complex web of interdependency leaves one in awe of the natural systems that exist here in the Tampa Bay area. Add to this complicated mangrove system the variety of wildlife, birds, and sea life. There is nothing quite as cute as baby raccoons; nothing as loveable as a big cuddly manatee; nothing as awesome as a 6 foot rattlesnake; nothing as amazing as a porpoise; nothing as beautiful as a roseate spoonbill at sunset; nothing as good tasting as a fresh fillet of snook; and so on… This is our database that we have inherited; let us pass it on to future generations.

    Our interest is a selfish interest. We want to protect the mangroves because they help protect us. What we are talking about is like the argument for old growth forests. We want to preserve the mangroves so that they can continue to provide us with all the benefits of a healthy environment that we now enjoy.
Since this is a wetlands and revegetation conference, I would like to leave you with a revegetation question. How much would it cost to replace one acre of 25-foot tall mangroves?