Miami's Mangrove Coastline on Biscayne Bay

Miami's mangroves line Biscayne Bay, a subtropical estuary whose mangrove-lined shores, hardbottom and seagrass beds sit inside the 64,607 acre Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, established in 1974 (FDEP Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve).

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says the preserve runs the length of Biscayne Bay from the headwaters of the Oleta River south to Card Sound near Key Largo, lies east of Miami Dade County, and leaves out the waters of Biscayne National Park (FDEP). Its managers invite visitors to explore mangrove islands with magnificent frigatebirds and the bay's many spoil islands, and the preserve page links an Adopt-an-Island Program for Biscayne Bay.

Biscayne National Park, which shares boundaries with the preserve, protects one of the longest continuous stretches of mangroves left on Florida's East coast, according to the National Park Service (NPS Biscayne mangroves). Closer in, Virginia Key, a 1000-acre barrier island between the eastern shore of the City of Miami and the Village of Key Biscayne, is reached by the Rickenbacker Causeway in Biscayne Bay and is covered by a City of Miami master plan (City of Miami Virginia Key Master Plan).

Three mangroves grow along Biscayne National Park's shorelines and island fringes, and the National Park Service says they line up from the water inland as red, then black, then white mangrove (NPS Biscayne mangroves).

Florida law, which Miami-Dade County carries out for mangrove trimming under a state delegation, uses the same three. The Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act defines a mangrove as any white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa), red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) or black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), and it does not distinguish between living and dead mangroves, so the same trimming rules apply to each (FDEP Mangroves). Official sources differ on the Act's span: the FDEP page calls it the 1996 Act covering sections 403.9321 to 403.9334, while the current 2026 Florida Statutes say sections 403.9321 to 403.9333 may be cited as the Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act (Florida Statutes 403.9321).

Cold is a weak point for all three. The Biscayne National Park page says all mangroves have trouble with cold weather and freezes, and that the white mangrove is the least cold tolerant of the three (NPS). The black mangrove's pneumatophores let it take in oxygen even as the tide comes in.

The Florida DEP adds that mangroves serve as a nursery for many game and sport fisheries, and that mangrove trimming, Miami-Dade shorelines included, is regulated under the Mangrove Act (FDEP).

Only with permission: a Miami-Dade County Class I Permit is required for most mangrove trimming, alteration or removal anywhere in the county, including inside the City of Miami and the other municipalities (Miami-Dade Class I Environmental Permit).

Miami-Dade is one of the local governments the Florida DEP has delegated to run the state Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act, and the state lists the county's number as 305-372-6575 for trimming questions in its area (FDEP delegated local governments). DEP says its district offices and delegated local governments are the ones that process mangrove trimming or alteration applications (FDEP Mangroves), and the delegation page says questions about trimming in a delegated area go to the responsible agency, which for Miami is the county (FDEP delegated local governments).

The Miami-Dade page says Class I review identifies potential environmental and other impacts and the county may require changes before a permit is issued and that mangrove trimming fees are based on the square footage of the area proposed for trimming (Miami-Dade County). Some qualifying work can get an expedited administrative authorization, typically processed in 10 days, if it meets the Section 24-48 criteria and the county finds no adverse environmental impact.

A practical Miami tip: the Coastal Resources Section works from Overtown Transit Village North at 701 NW 1st Court, and the county encourages a call to 305-372-6575 to discuss a particular case, since a Class I Permit must be obtained before work starts (Miami-Dade Class I permit). Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Miami-Dade County website.

Biscayne National Park's Convoy Point has a canoe and kayak launch open daily from 7 AM to 5:30 PM, and the park charges no entrance fee (NPS Biscayne hours).

The Dante Fascell Visitor Center at Convoy Point is open 7 days a week from 9 AM to 5 PM, and the navigable waters of the park are open 24 hours a day (NPS Biscayne hours). The National Park Service says Biscayne National Park has no entrance fees, while day use docking at Boca Chita and Elliott Keys costs $25.00 Friday through Monday and on federal holidays (NPS Biscayne fees).

The Biscayne National Park mailing address is 9700 SW 328th Street, Sir Lancelot Jones Way, Homestead, FL 33033, and its mangrove page describes the shoreline forest as a tangle of roots arching from the trunks in many directions (NPS Biscayne mangroves).

In the bay itself, the Florida DEP lists publicly accessible canoe and kayak launches at East Greynolds County Park, Oleta River State Park and the Deering Estate, and says the City of Miami works with the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve on managing 11 of the preserve's 24 spoil islands (FDEP Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve).

The City of Miami planned to replace removed mangroves on Virginia Key's west shoreline next to Miami Marine Stadium by 2020, and its master plan page still lists that work as being processed (City of Miami Virginia Key Master Plan).

The City of Miami completed the Virginia Key master planning process on July 22, 2010, and the plan sets policies for land use and for the protection and enhancement of the island's natural resources (City of Miami). Miami Marine Stadium itself was built in 1963 and was declared unsafe and abandoned after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, according to the same city page.

Stale official data: as of October 15, 2026, the Miami page still describes the Virginia Key mangrove replacement as being processed with a 2020 completion date, and the neighboring Maritime Center item still gives 2021 as its expected finish (Virginia Key Master Plan). The page does not say whether the west shoreline replanting happened, so anyone following the Marine Stadium shoreline should ask the City of Miami Planning Department for the current status.

Work in the tidal waters or coastal wetlands of that Virginia Key shoreline would need a county Class I Permit, subject to the Section 24-48 exceptions, because the Miami-Dade permit covers those areas in every municipality in the county (Miami-Dade Class I permit).