Hiking in the Rare Pine Rocklands of Miami
Released December 7, 2023
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MIAMI – On a warm summer night, I found myself in one of the world’s most unique environments, bustling with countless endemic, threatened, and endangered species, and I accidentally stepped on one. Oops.
A tiny green seasonal herb called Polygala smallii, or small polygala, poked out from beneath my hiking boot. It’s no easy feat to walk through the pine rocklands, an unusual habitat of pine forests growing on limestone unique to Florida and the Bahamas, without stepping on at least one vulnerable organism. George Gann, executive director of the Institute for Regional Conservation, believes this might be one of the highest concentrations of threatened species in any community in the United States. (Gann’s work is partially funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society)
In a healthy pine rockland, various species of wildflowers and palms, along with lush woody shrubs, grow on rocky, sometimes-sandy soil. These forests once covered more than 186,000 acres of South Florida, including most of urban Miami-Dade County. However, due to rapid urban development, less than 2 percent of that habitat outside the Everglades remains today, according to the Tropical Audubon Society. What’s left provides habitats for more than 3 dozen threatened species, including the Florida leafwing butterfly, the Miami tiger beetle, and the Florida bonneted bat.
This patch of pine rockland is adjacent to the site of a proposed water park and shopping center, Miami Wilds. The controversial project has been under discussion since 1997, but little progress has been made. The original plans for this plot included a 200-room hotel and spa, but over time, public outcry and legal challenges over environmental risks have scaled back the plans to a water park, a smaller hotel, and a few shops. These plans include six million dollars to be set aside for pine rockland restoration efforts, says Miami Wilds developer Paul Lambert, founder of the group Lambert Advisory. “This part of the county has always been the most moderate-income area of the county with the lowest number of jobs,” he says. “By our numbers, it’s going to create over 400 jobs.”
The remaining 4,000 acres or so of pine rocklands in Florida are in jeopardy. Development has overtaken much of what used to be pine rockland, and the remaining plots are fragmented, Miami-Dade County reports. In this parcel outside Miami, the land has been largely overrun by the overgrowth of native palms and shrubs, as well as invasive plant species such as the Brazilian peppertree, a shrub-like tree with red berries, and the Burma reed, a tall grass species.
Despite being threatened, this parcel is “the most important piece of pine rockland left outside of Everglades National Park,” says Lauren Jonaitis, senior conservation director for the Tropical Audubon Society.
