Feds propose critical habitat for the Miami Tiger beetle. Can it derail water park plans?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed on Friday to give critical habitat designation to the Miami Tiger beetle under the Endangered Species Act, a move that could derail plans for a water park that’s slated to be built next to a patch of rare pine rockland forest where the iridescent, jewel-like insect lives.
Found only in the last remaining patches of South Florida’s pine rocklands, one of the most imperiled habitats in the world, the tiny beetle was believed to be extinct for decades until it was rediscovered in 2007 near Zoo Miami. It was added to the endangered species list in 2016 but did not receive a critical habitat designation, which would map out boundaries and extend protections to the species’ critical pine rocklands habitat.
“The Miami tiger beetle is small as a grain of rice but, for its size, fast like a cheetah,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which filed a petition in 2014 asking for the critical habitat designation. “It’s a stunning example of Florida’s incredible biodiversity. This habitat protection is badly needed to ensure the last few patches of pine rockland aren’t destroyed so that tiger beetles and other unique South Florida plants and animals can survive.”
The Service said today that approximately 1,977 acres in Miami-Dade County fall within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat designation, but it’s unclear from the map included in the proposal if the area includes 27.5 acres earmarked for the Miami Wilds water park, 200-room hotel and shops. The Service will receive public comment during the rule-making process, the proposal said.
County commissioners approved in October a $120 million, 40-year lease agreement for the water park complex, a development that’s slated to be built on a portion of Zoo Miami’s parking lot. Supporters such as former commissioner Dennis Moss cited the potential for economic development and jobs, and the fact that the project was already approved by a county vote in 2006.
Environmentalists mounted a campaign against Miami Wilds, saying the area was key to the survival of endangered species like the Tiger beetle, the Florida bonneted bat and rare butterflies. The area where the attraction would be built is right next to a patch of rare pine rockland forest, one of the few that remain undeveloped in Miami-Dade outside of Everglades National Park.
The lease deal was a major hurdle for the controversial project that had gone through years of discussions and plan changes because of evidence that the area is environmentally sensitive. The plan was downsized from a much larger original project that was designed as a theme park featuring rides based on 20th Century Fox movies such as Rio and Ice Age. Over the years the park’s footprint was scaled down to consider environmental concerns and specifically the endangered species that are known to use that habitat.
There were also questions about the benefits and financial details of the project, which was planned before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Miami’s hospitality industry. The county commission in November also approved a $13.5 million subsidy for Miami Wilds, which would cover about 10% of the budget. Environmentalists say those taxpayer dollars would be better spent in conservation and infrastructure needs.
In exchange for covering about 10% of the development budget, Miami-Dade would require the for-profit park to hire 403 people for jobs earning no less than an average annual wage of $35,620. Using a county formula assuming a 36-hour work week, that amounts to about $19 an hour for the typical job in the park complex.
Environmentalists like Michael Daulton, executive director of Bat Conservation International, said preserving that area benefits the environment and the community in a much more significant way than any business development ever will.
Miami-Dade’s Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces department, which is managing the project, didn’t reply to a request for comment on how the proposed critical habitat designation may affect its plans for Miami Wilds.
Much of the pine rocklands that remain are located in Everglades National Park, and only 2 percent are left outside the park. The forest, which can only be found in South Florida and parts of Cuba and the Bahamas, once covered much of Miami-Dade County’s high ground between Florida City and the Miami River. Today, small pockets of pine rockland outside the park provide habitat for a growing list of endangered species including the beetle and bat, four butterflies and many species of plants.
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