Mangroves in St. Petersburg: Species, Where to See Them and Trimming Rules

Three true mangroves grow on the St. Petersburg shoreline of Tampa Bay: red mangrove, black mangrove and white mangrove, the same three species Florida law protects (Florida DEP).

The Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act of 1996, sections 403.9321 to 403.9334 of the Florida Statutes, names Rhizophora mangle (red), Avicennia germinans (black) and Laguncularia racemosa (white), and the act treats a dead mangrove on a St. Petersburg seawall lot the same as a living one (Florida DEP).

Tampa Bay supports all three species, and they sort themselves by elevation: red mangroves grow closest to the water, black mangroves next, and white mangroves farthest up the shore (Tampa Bay Estuary Program). The Florida Natural Areas Inventory adds buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) to the mix as the plant of the highest, least tidal zone, often at the edge of the upland (FNAI). The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission does not count buttonwood as a true mangrove, because it lacks the root and reproductive traits of the other three (FWC).

Freeze tolerance sets how far north each species forms forests. FNAI reports that black mangroves form dense stands north to Cedar Key on the Gulf coast, while red and white mangroves form dense forests only as far north as Tarpon Springs on the Gulf coast (FNAI). Mangroves most commonly stand 10 to 20 feet tall, though FNAI notes they range from trees more than 80 feet tall to dwarf shrubs (FNAI).

In Pinellas County the roots give each mangrove away: red mangroves stand on arching prop roots, black mangroves send up fingerlike roots from the mud (Pinellas County), and white mangroves often lack visible roots (FWC).

Pinellas County describes red mangroves with long aerial prop roots, waxy bright green leaves and pencil-like seedlings hanging from the branches; they are very sensitive to trimming, especially topping (Pinellas County homeowner guide). Black mangroves grow taller and more tree-like, with dark bark, and the upper side of the leaf is darker than the lower side and often crusted with salt. FWC calls the black mangrove roots pneumatophores: dark, woody projections growing straight up from the soil (FWC).

White mangroves around St. Petersburg are generally smaller and more shrub-like, with oval leaves that carry two small glands at the base of each leaf, and they generally tolerate trimming (Pinellas County). Buttonwood, the upland neighbor, is easiest to spot by its button-like, cone-shaped fruit clusters (FWC).

Mangrove forests can be seen at Weedon Island Preserve, 1800 Weedon Drive NE, where boardwalks run through tidal flats and mangrove forests on Old Tampa Bay (Weedon Island Preserve).

The preserve covers about 3,195 acres on the northwest shore of Old Tampa Bay, with more than half of it north of Gandy Boulevard; most of it is aquatic and wetland, laced with mosquito ditches dug in the late 1950s, and uplands make up the other 1,100 acres (Weedon Island Preserve ecosystems). Pinellas County rounds the size to a 3,000-acre natural area in north St. Petersburg, so the two county pages differ by about 195 acres (Pinellas County). The state of Florida owns the land and Pinellas County manages it under lease agreements (Weedon Island Preserve).

Weedon Island Preserve has almost two miles of accessible boardwalk and pavement, with the boardwalks running through tidal flats and mangrove forests over saltwater ponds, and a 45-foot observation tower on the west boardwalk loop looks over the preserve, Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg and Tampa (Weedon Island Preserve trails). Two self-guided paddling trails thread the islands and waterways, though Pinellas County lists the north trail as closed at this time, and the county counts more than 4.7 miles of boardwalks and trails in all (Pinellas County).

Weedon Island Preserve opens daily at 7 a.m. and closes at a time posted at the entrance, roughly 15 minutes before sunset, and admission to both the preserve and the Cultural and Natural History Center is free (Weedon Island Preserve). Pets are not allowed on the preserve, because the county treats it as the only refuge for many native animals (Weedon Island Preserve FAQ). Trails are for day use only and overnight parking is not allowed (Weedon Island Preserve trails).

Mangroves are the dominant wetland plants of the Tampa Bay watershed, and they provide shelter and nursery areas for fish, crustaceans and shellfish (Tampa Bay Estuary Program).

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program says mangrove forests trap and cycle pollutants, serve as nursery areas, and form the base of the food chain for snook, snapper, tarpon, jack, sheepshead, red drum, oysters, crabs and shrimp; they also protect uplands from storms, waves and floods (TBEP). Pinellas County credits Weedon Island Preserve with reducing storm surge and protecting nearby development from flooding and erosion, and lists its pier and oyster bars as places to catch sea trout, snook and sheepshead (Pinellas County).

Losses frame the rules. Pinellas County says Florida has lost about 86 percent of its mangroves since the 1940s and the Tampa Bay region about half of its historic coverage (Pinellas County). TBEP counts almost half of the bay's original marshes and mangroves lost since the 1950s, with half of the natural shoreline altered by roads, causeways and subdivisions (TBEP).

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program Habitat Master Plan sets a target of 15,300 acres of mangrove forests in the watershed by no later than 2050, alongside 5,457 acres of salt marsh and 56 miles of living shoreline (TBEP Habitat Master Plan).

Pinellas County regulates mangrove trimming on St. Petersburg shorelines, under authority the Florida DEP has delegated to the county (Florida DEP).

Florida DEP lists Pinellas County, phone 727-453-3385, among the local governments delegated to run the Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act; questions about trimming in a delegated area go to that agency (Florida DEP delegated local governments). Pinellas County adopted its Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Code in 2003 with a citizen advisory committee, and the county says the code now provides the sole regulation over mangroves in Pinellas County (Pinellas County). The rules sit in Chapter 58, Article XVI of the county code, and trimming needs either an exemption or a permit (Pinellas County mangroves).

Every Pinellas County trim, exempt or permitted, must follow the general criteria: the mangroves must be on the owner's land or the adjacent state submerged land, outside any conservation or mitigation area; no mangrove may be cut below six feet measured from the mud; prop roots may not be cut; and no herbicides may be used (Pinellas County homeowner guide). A professional mangrove trimmer registered with Pinellas County must be used for mangroves over 10 feet tall, must notify Pinellas County Water and Navigation in advance, and must be on site; trees over 16 feet are cut in stages, with no more than 25 percent of the foliage removed a year (Pinellas County).

Exempt trimming in Pinellas County requires a fringe less than 50 feet deep, trees no taller than 24 feet, no more than 65 percent of the mangrove area trimmed on shorelines longer than 150 feet, and mangroves that are not on an uninhabited island; maintenance trimming of mangroves legally trimmed in the past is also exempt (Pinellas County). A permit covers fringes up to 500 feet deep, with work only between March 1 and November 30, non-petroleum chain saw lubricants, removal of Brazilian pepper, melaleuca and Chinese tallow within 25 feet of the mangroves, and removal of all cut branches; Pinellas County reviews applications within 30 days (Pinellas County).

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Pinellas County and Florida DEP websites.

The first call for a St. Petersburg owner is Pinellas County Water and Navigation at (727) 453-3385, the county line for exemption and permit questions; any tree over 10 feet also needs a county-registered trimmer (Pinellas County).

Pinellas County publishes a listing of professional mangrove trimmers registered in the county, a homeowner guide in English and Spanish, and a trimmer registration and renewal form on its mangroves page; permit questions go to Water and Navigation Permits at (727) 464-4170 (Pinellas County mangroves). County staff can meet an owner on site to confirm that a project qualifies as exempt (Pinellas County).

The Pinellas County fee schedule effective October 1, 2026 lists $810 for a single family mangrove trimming permit application, $1,610 for multi-family and commercial, and $200 (single family) or $400 (multi-use or commercial) for a pre-application mangrove survey (Pinellas County fee schedule).

Pinellas County adds two cautions: because no mangrove may be removed, destroyed or defoliated, some trees cannot be reduced to six feet or must be reduced in stages over time, and red mangroves are very sensitive to trimming, especially topping (Pinellas County homeowner guide). Outside the delegated counties, Florida DEP district offices take mangrove applications; for St. Petersburg the county office is the one to call (Florida DEP).