Fort Zachary Taylor-Key West-Gulfstream 2

PLANTING OF BANNED PINE TREE LEAVES PROTESTERS ANGRY
Sun-Sentinel
December 18, 1996
Author: NEIL SANTANIELLO Staff Writer

They came, they planted and they were booed.

Under the scornful gaze of a dozen protesters, some armed with signs jeering "Gulf Stream: Weed City USA," a band of town leaders and residents marched onto a shoulder of State Road A1A on Tuesday and did something outlawed in every Florida community but theirs.

They planted a young Australian pine tree, the same exotic plant that managers of Florida's public lands are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to eradicate.

After a few turns of a shovel and some ceremonial words, the red-ribboned sapling plopped into the ground, marking the start of a controversial program to line Gulf Stream's two-mile coastal drive with new Australian pines as older ones die or weaken from age and disease.

"No one can deny the beauty of the trees" along A1A, said Gulf Stream's consulting arborist, C. Way Hoyt.

The protesters, which included members of the state's Exotic Pest Plant Council and the Florida Native Plant Society, were not of the same mind.

They condemned the well-heeled town for its successful fight to persuade state legislators to let it grow a tree residents see as important to the character of their ribbon of coastal highway, proclaimed a historic and scenic route by the state.

Said a sign held by another protester: "Australian pine - weed of the rich and famous."

The town did not easily win its planting rights. It prevailed only after a third attempt to get a bill through the state Legislature recognizing what Town Manager Scott Harrington calls Gulf Stream's "unique" need for the tree.

Sponsored by Rep. William Andrews, R-Delray Beach, the bill authorizes the town to plant Australian pine along A1A from Pelican Lane to Sea Road to maintain the canopy that 400 of the trees provide.

The town even landed federal transportation funds - $250,000 - to help pay for a redesign of A1A's landscape to incorporate a mix of new Australian pines and native trees.

The Australian pine has been illegal to plant in Florida since 1990, labeled along with melaleuca and Brazilian pepper as a scourge on Florida's landscape.

The trees, which can live 60 years or longer and climb to 100 feet or more, outmuscle native plants, sink shallow roots that make them prone to toppling in hurricanes and serve no important purpose for native wildlife, enviromental regulators argue.

"We're the people on the front lines, and this is basically another beachhead of exotic plants we have to fight now," said Steven Farnsworth, a native plant society member and Palm Beach County environmental regulator.

But Gulf Steam resident Jean Breazeale, smitten with the town's Australian pines, says the trees are not as big an environmental evil as commonly portrayed.

"I think these people missed the point," she said.

The trees may not be sure-footed in some inland areas but are more secure along beaches, she said. Walls of Australian pine, also known as casuarina, are propagated along coastlines in other subtropical and tropical regions because their root systems can protect sand dunes from erosion, she said.

"It certainly doesn't belong on the same list as melaleuca," she said.

The town maintains and prunes existing trees to keep them sturdy, and says that upkeep and their ability to thrive along the coast does not make them the safety hazard some fear.

Native plant advocates think the town will be proved wrong if a hurricane hits, and they say the exemption could set a precedent for other communities to grow banned exotics.

"It's just bad government," Thayer said.

Harrington said the town embarked on its campaign to keep the trees after the state Department of Transportation startled the community in 1992 by tagging 90 of the trees for destruction.

"Town Hall was busting at the seams" with angry residents, leading to negotiations with DOT to save healthy trees and legislative lobbying to plant new ones, Harrington said.

Copyright 1996 Sun-Sentinel Company


	PLANTING OF BANNED PINE TREE LEAVES PROTESTERS ANGRY Sun-Sentinel December 18, 1996 Author: NEIL SANTANIELLO Staff Writer They came, they planted and they were booed. Under the scornful gaze of a dozen protesters, some armed with signs jeering "Gulf Stream: Weed City USA," a band of town leaders and residents marched onto a shoulder of State Road A1A on Tuesday and did something outlawed in every Florida community but theirs. They planted a young Australian pine tree, the same exotic plant that managers of Florida's public lands are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to eradicate. After a few turns of a shovel and some ceremonial words, the red-ribboned sapling plopped into the ground, marking the start of a controversial program to line Gulf Stream's two-mile coastal drive with new Australian pines as older ones die or weaken from age and disease. "No one can deny the beauty of the trees" along A1A, said Gulf Stream's consulting arborist, C. Way Hoyt. The protesters, which included members of the state's Exotic Pest Plant Council and the Florida Native Plant Society, were not of the same mind. They condemned the well-heeled town for its successful fight to persuade state legislators to let it grow a tree residents see as important to the character of their ribbon of coastal highway, proclaimed a historic and scenic route by the state. Said a sign held by another protester: "Australian pine - weed of the rich and famous." The town did not easily win its planting rights. It prevailed only after a third attempt to get a bill through the state Legislature recognizing what Town Manager Scott Harrington calls Gulf Stream's "unique" need for the tree. Sponsored by Rep. William Andrews, R-Delray Beach, the bill authorizes the town to plant Australian pine along A1A from Pelican Lane to Sea Road to maintain the canopy that 400 of the trees provide. The town even landed federal transportation funds - $250,000 - to help pay for a redesign of A1A's landscape to incorporate a mix of new Australian pines and native trees. The Australian pine has been illegal to plant in Florida since 1990, labeled along with melaleuca and Brazilian pepper as a scourge on Florida's landscape. The trees, which can live 60 years or longer and climb to 100 feet or more, outmuscle native plants, sink shallow roots that make them prone to toppling in hurricanes and serve no important purpose for native wildlife, enviromental regulators argue. "We're the people on the front lines, and this is basically another beachhead of exotic plants we have to fight now," said Steven Farnsworth, a native plant society member and Palm Beach County environmental regulator. But Gulf Steam resident Jean Breazeale, smitten with the town's Australian pines, says the trees are not as big an environmental evil as commonly portrayed. "I think these people missed the point," she said. The trees may not be sure-footed in some inland areas but are more secure along beaches, she said. Walls of Australian pine, also known as casuarina, are propagated along coastlines in other subtropical and tropical regions because their root systems can protect sand dunes from erosion, she said. "It certainly doesn't belong on the same list as melaleuca," she said. The town maintains and prunes existing trees to keep them sturdy, and says that upkeep and their ability to thrive along the coast does not make them the safety hazard some fear. Native plant advocates think the town will be proved wrong if a hurricane hits, and they say the exemption could set a precedent for other communities to grow banned exotics. "It's just bad government," Thayer said. Harrington said the town embarked on its campaign to keep the trees after the state Department of Transportation startled the community in 1992 by tagging 90 of the trees for destruction. "Town Hall was busting at the seams" with angry residents, leading to negotiations with DOT to save healthy trees and legislative lobbying to plant new ones, Harrington said. Copyright 1996 Sun-Sentinel Company


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