Magnificent Mangroves

The March 3rd Broward County Commission meeting was a powerful reminder that community voices matter!

✅ Close to 7,000 residents signed the petition
✅ More than 40 speakers showed up in person
✅ Hundreds wrote letters and emails

And Broward County Commission voted 8–0 to preserve the mangroves in Dania Beach and keep this parcel on the Environmentally Sensitive Lands map.

This is a major victory for nature — and for resilience.

But while we won an important battle, the long-term future of this mangrove parcel is not yet fully secured. Continued public support will still matter as

Broward County works toward a permanent solution.

🙏 Thank You to Everyone Who Spoke Up!

Thank you to every single person who:

✔ Wrote a letter
✔ Signed the petition
✔ Showed up to speak
✔ Shared information
✔ Stood up for something bigger than themselves

Your voice spoke for nature- For wildlife -For future generations -
For ecosystems that cannot speak for themselves.

Many of us shortened our prepared remarks once the Commission’s position became clear, but one simple truth remained important to say:

Nature Is Infrastructure - this issue was never about choosing nature over progress - it was about recognizing that in Broward County:

Nature is infrastructure.

Mangroves are not vacant land. They are working systems that:

• buffer storms
• mitigate flooding
• filter pollutants
• protect property
• support biodiversity and marine ecosystems
• provide enormous economic value to coastal communities

Resilience is not built after the fact — it is preserved before it is lost.

The County Commission’s decision strengthened our natural defenses

instead of weakening them.

On behalf of Residents for Resilience and our many concerned members, we thank Broward County Commission — and Dania Beach Mayor Joyce Davis — for helping protect these mangroves as part of Broward County’s

essential resilience infrastructure.

We also respectfully encourage that this beautiful area — home to nearby wildlife habitat, including the monkey sanctuary — remain permanently protected through a thoughtful long-term solution.

When we stand together, our voices are louder.

And this time, Broward stood for resilience.

___________________

📩 Sample Letter Provided Below

We won an important vote — but continued public support still matters.

For those who would still like to respectfully support long-term protection of this important mangrove parcel, a sample letter is provided below for you to copy, personalize, and send to Broward County Commissioners.

Even a short personal message helps remind decision-makers that continued public support for nature-based resilience remains strong.

🌿🌊💚

Residents for Resilience (R4R)

“It’s hard to care about what you don’t know about.”

_____________________

📩 Sample Letter to Broward County Commissioners
(Feel free to copy, personalize, and send your own message of support.)

Dear Broward County Commissioner,

First, thank you for your unanimous vote at the March 3rd meeting to keep the environmentally sensitive 3- to 5-acre mangrove parcel in Dania Beach on the Environmentally Sensitive Lands (ESL) map — an important and encouraging first step that many residents deeply appreciate.

As discussed during the meeting, this remains a matter in need of a thoughtful long-term solution, and we respectfully encourage Broward County to continue leading that effort. We believe that if all parties come together with a shared commitment to preserving this mangrove parcel, a workable path forward can be found.

Several constructive ideas were raised, including land purchase, land swap, and the possible establishment of a mitigation bank. There may also be other creative approaches worth exploring. Given the ecological importance of this parcel and its location within Broward’s “mega zone,” we hope every reasonable option remains on the table.

With flooding concerns increasingly discussed across Broward County — including long-term resilience costs and changing flood projections — protecting natural flood-mitigation assets such as this mangrove parcel becomes even more important. Areas like this provide natural water storage, shoreline buffering, and resilience value that should not be underestimated.

This area also appears to serve an important natural flood-mitigation role for the surrounding region, including nearby critical infrastructure such as Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, while contributing to a broader ecological corridor near important wildlife habitat, including the nearby monkey sanctuary.

At a time when Broward is already confronting difficult resilience challenges — including concerns involving coral habitat and other natural protective systems — preserving remaining mangroves becomes even more important as part of a broader resilience strategy.

Protecting natural systems today helps reduce the cost and complexity of resilience challenges tomorrow.

Please know there are many residents ready, willing, and eager to support efforts that help protect this important mangrove habitat.

Thank you again for your leadership thus far. We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a thoughtful long-term solution.

Warm regards,

[Your Name]
[Your City or Neighborhood]

📧 Broward County Commissioner Email Addresses

Please feel free to copy the sample letter above, personalize it if you wish,

and send your message of support directly to Broward County Commissioners.

A short personal note about why protecting mangroves matters

to you can make your message even more meaningful.

Broward County Board of County Commissioners

(As of March 2026)

District 1: Nan H. Rich - nrich@broward.org
District 2 (Mayor): Mark D. Bogen - mbogen@broward.org

District 3: Michael Udine - mudine@broward.org
District 4: Lamar P. Fisher - lfisher@broward.org
District 5: Steve Geller - sgeller@broward.org
District 6: Beam Furr - bfurr@broward.org
District 7: Alexandra P. Davis - adavis@broward.org
District 8 (Vice Mayor): Robert McKinzie - rmckinzie@broward.org
District 9: Hazelle P. Rogers - hrogers@broward.org

For legislative staff, you can also contact

the Legislative Counsel - Broward County or use the general format,

but specific, direct staff emails are preferred for urgent matters.

Broward County Commission link

🌿 Your voice still matters — especially now, while long-term solutions are being considered.

Watch Here

DANIA MANGROVE vs WAREHOUSE CHALLENGE UPDATE:

The Mangrove versus Warehouse Challenge continues -- get commitment from Broward County Commissioners to keep the parcel on the ESL map. The only changes/updates are that the County Commission will vote on the matter on March 3, 2026 at County Chambers, 115 S. Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, meeting starts at 10:00 am, should be concluded by 12:30 pm. We are asking everyone to communicate with the Broward County Commissioners before the meeting and to attend the meeting. We need all hands on deck at the meeting!

Contact the Board of County Commissioners at:

https://www.broward.org/commission/pages/default.aspx

SAVE OUR MANGROVES!V

Tricia Halliday and I had a great time joining Coastal Conservation Association’s
Mike Lambrechts, CPFA, Fort Lauderdale’s City Staff including Assistant City Manager Anthony Fajardo, Urban Forester Laura Tooley, and Todd Hiteshew -for a walk through George English Park. Together, we identified key areas for planting mangroves provided by CCA, to enhance water quality and create vital habitat for marine life. It was a productive discussion, and R4R is excited to work with this group on this much needed project in collaboration with the City of Fort Lauderdale! We also look forward to collaborating on future waterway remediation projects too!