Immeasurable Value
One of the world’s most endangered ecosystems is found right in South Florida and the Florida Keys. They’re called pine rocklands, and they’re the last refuge for dozens of endangered and threatened species, including rare butterflies, delicate flowers, and imperiled deer and bats.
These precious forests face existential threats from habitat destruction driven by urban and agricultural development, suppression of natural fire, invasion of nonnative plants, and effects of climate change like sea-level rise and storms of increasing intensity.
Yet miraculously, fragments of these amazing ecosystems still exist.
Even more miraculously, many of the remaining fragments of pine rocklands are quietly tucked away in the bustling metropolis of Miami. And these urban pine rocklands hold an important key to saving this imperiled ecosystem and the dozens of threatened and endangered species who live in them. Because of their location on the relatively high-elevation Miami Rock Ridge, these forests have the best chance of withstanding future sea level rise and stronger storm surges driven by climate change.
To save pine rocklands, we must think about the future. And the future of pine rocklands depends on protecting, restoring and reforesting as many acres as possible in Miami-Dade.
With growing public support, now is the time to Save Our Pine Rocklands.