Miami commissioners to decide if home to marine birds is worth protecting

MIAMI – An island in Biscayne Bay’s northern basin that is home to marine birds is at risk because of increased boating activity, and Miami commissioners meeting on Thursday are set to decide whether or not to protect it.

The Mangrove Island is just across from Morningside Park. The area around it is a slow-speed zone, but environmental advocates say there are plenty of speeders there regularly who are disturbing the habitat.

Laura Reynolds, the vice president of Friends of Biscayne Bay, said the spike in aggressive motorized boating has already taken a toll. In 2019, the nesting ceased on Bird Key, just north of Mangrove Island.

Observers like Sandy Moises, who lives in the area, believe the birds moved to Mangrove Island, which up until recently, has experienced an increase in speeding jet skis. She has been sounding the alarm for months.

There were five brown pelicans that perished within one month — all tangled in the nest, hanging in the rookery. Most recently there were two carcasses.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the birds have been killed and I’ve been getting photographs and it’s because there’s a lot of action here, especially during the weekend,” Moises said.

Miami Commissioner Sabina Covo has been stepping up to protect the rookery. In July, she successfully sponsored a resolution to get the city manager to work with The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to put up signs in September.

People are just ignoring the signs. Scientist Brian Raposa said the lack of policing has put this rookery in danger of collapsing and could leave the cormorants, the brown pelicans, and the magnificent frigate birds with nowhere else to nest.

“These birds are very sensitive to disturbance,” Raposa said.

If boaters are going too fast, if fishermen are coming in here and getting too close, the birds are going to stop using this island. Eventually, they’re going to stop using the bay.

Covo is sponsoring a new resolution to prohibit any motorized water activity within 500 feet of the island. She also wants to make the channel east of the Rookery an idle speed zone. It is in fact a manatee protection zone.

The health of Biscayne Bay is the linchpin to our prosperity. Albert Gomez, an activist, said the area is like a bank for the community’s children.

“We’re not going to have anything for them to look at other than a pond of water and dead water below them,” Gomez said.

A recent study found that Biscayne Bay contributes about $64 billion to the local economy. This is Miami’s Central Park and Blue Heart.

Activists plan to be at City Hall and are encouraging residents to sign up for public comments. For more information, visit this page. To download the meeting’s agenda, visit this page.