DEP investigates hacked mangroves at Sandpiper Bay Resort in Port St. Lucie
A Port St. Lucie resort has been under investigation since the state found about 944 mangrove trees — a swath the length of the Caribbean Princess cruise ship — illegally cut down to nubs on the shoreline.
It could take 10-15 years for the mangroves to return to their former glory, said Florida Oceanographic Society chief scientist Lorae Simpson.
“They pull up a lot of the nutrients before the nutrients make it into the water column, which is very important to the water quality of our ecosystems," Dr. Loraé Simpson said.
