We can’t afford to lose Manatee’s mangroves. Here’s why.

At a conference in Boca Raton some years ago, an example of why we shouldn't remove mangroves was evident.

One of the presenters had friends in Indonesia, and after a tsunami he went to visit them and see how they fared. He explored further. Three villages along the shore were affected.

Two had been convinced by shrimping conglomerates to clear their mangroves and farm shrimp in cages off shore. After the tsunami, the village that kept their mangroves survived, but the other two without mangroves were wiped out with few or no survivors. Very few deaths were recorded in the village with mangroves.

This is what could happen at Long Bar Point if any mangroves are removed, let alone 40 acres. If this development is approved, we will have true confirmation of whom our politicians are really working for.

This story was originally published June 1, 2017 at 2:10 PM with the headline "We can’t afford to lose Manatee’s mangroves. Here’s why.."