Fine levied for mangrove removal for development at Seven Islands
The South Florida Water Management District has levied a fine against Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina, LLC for its removal of protected mangroves as part of the Seven Islands Development.
According to Public Information Officer Jason Schultz of the SFWMD, the total amount of civil penalties and costs associated with the investigation and the settlement of the violation in question is $34,336.51. He said the developer has not yet paid.
“The amount of the fine was determined based on procedures in the District’s enforcement manual,” Schultz said via email.
Last week, a plan of remediation was announced by the developer.
According to officials involved in the project, Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina, LLC has been actively coordinating with local, state and federal agencies regarding restoration measures since learning that mangroves had been inadvertently removed from the Seven Islands Property, a spokesperson told The Breeze via email.
“The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have approved the bank stabilization plan, which includes reshaping the shoreline and stabilizing the bank to help prevent erosion,” said Sarah Flynn, a Forest Development spokesperson. “The work is beginning Tuesday, August 18, 2026 and will address approximately 545 linear feet of shoreline and is expected to be completed within four weeks of commencement.”
Flynn said once the bank stabilization work is complete, and upon approval of the mangrove restoration plan by the applicable agencies, mangrove replanting will begin.
The South Florida Water Management District approved the restoration and bank stabilization plans for the Seven Islands Project in Cape Coral effective Aug. 18.
As of July, Forest Development had not been issued permits for removal of mangroves along hundreds of feet of the shoreline of one of the Seven Islands, a group of manmade spoil “islands” connect to land off Old Burnt Store Road.
The mangroves along the North Spreader were removed by a contractor who had obtained a land-clearing permit from the city. The city does not issue permits for the removal of mangroves and officials have confirmed that no agency had issued the permits required for any removal of mangroves.
Cape resident David Scott was among those who alerted the Army Corps of Engineers that mangrove removal had taken place.
Scott feels the fine is more of a slap on the wrist that could lead to similar outcomes in the future. He said using aerial photography and looking at the 200 feet or so that was not destroyed, he estimates about 1,000 trees were removed. He said there’s no way to have total proof of how many were removed due to the excavation process that occurred.
“(The fine) screams loud and clear to totally ignore rules and regulations. To rip them out because nobody is going to do anything,” Scott said. “These guys are using a jewelry hammer instead of a nine-pound sledge. You can see what it’s going to promote. It’s a travesty. People that come out here and plant these trees and feel connected to what’s going on, it’s a gut punch.”
Scott said it’s as if he didn’t alert the Army Corps to what was happening at the site, the developer would be continuing to remove protected mangroves.
“They brought two excavators in to supposedly do this selective clearing,” he said. “This is not even under the auspices of doing anything correctly. They committed the most basic ‘no-nos’ in the world and that’s the most protected tree we have in our state.
“This tiny fine — wow. We can just expect more and more of this.”
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