If you reserved a tree this year, pick-up day is Wed, Mar 25 in Tavernier from 4:00-6:00 PM.

Beyond helping lower cooling costs, trees provide important benefits for the entire community — improving air quality, reducing stormwater runoff, beautifying neighborhoods, lowering  heat effect, and supporting a healthier local environment.

The Million Trees Project is the Arbor Day Foundation’s 2026 spring campaign, targeting the planting of 1 million new trees across the United States through individual, school, and community participation.

A single tree can remove carbon at a rate of 10–40 pounds per year in its first decade and 48–100 pounds per year once mature.

Enforcement of tree removals: With the tremendous value of trees to a community, it is no wonder Islamorada has strict regulations intended to protect our trees.  The local concern is enforcement.  

How troubling it is to see property owners ignore the tree cutting regulations and sometimes even “clear cut” (remove all vegetation from a lot) without a permit, to facilitate ease of development.  If caught, the mitigation cost is likely inconsequential to a property owner building a multi-million-dollar home or business. The penalty, if caught, just considered another small cost of making a huge real estate profit.

With LiDAR, maybe Islamorada could save more trees through better enforcement and provide stiffer penalties for clearing without a permit.  There could be programs to replace downed trees after a storm… instead of property owners removing even more trees after a storm, thinking they won’t be caught.