{"id":384201,"date":"2026-08-29T03:46:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T03:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384201\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T03:46:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T03:46:45","slug":"nearly-a-dozen-protected-mahogany-trees-illegally-cut-down-along-i-95-i-thought-i-was-witnessing-a-zombie-apocalypse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384201\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly a dozen protected mahogany trees illegally cut down along I-95: &#8220;I thought I was witnessing a zombie apocalypse&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>City officials are investigating the unauthorized removal of nearly a dozen native mahogany trees along I-95 after families and environmental advocates found the threatened species cut down to stumps.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I thought it was really strange,&#8221; said Alexandra Acero, who lives nearby. &#8220;It didn&#8217;t seem like it was a city-owned truck, so it definitely caught my attention.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sandy Moise, a member of Sierra Club Miami, said she was stunned when she saw the aftermath near I-95 and Northwest 31st Street.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I thought I was witnessing a zombie apocalypse,&#8221; Moise said. &#8220;It was unreal. I couldn&#8217;t believe I saw these lifeless trunks.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>FDOT confirmed it did not order the removal of the trees. Photos taken before the cutting show a row of mature mahogany trees growing along the highway corridor.<\/p>\n<p>Mahogany is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fdacs.gov\/Consumer-Resources\/Protect-Our-Environment\/Botany\/Florida-s-Endangered-Plants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">listed<\/a>\u00a0as a threatened plant species in Florida, making it a protected species under state law.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It looks sad,&#8221; Acero said. &#8220;It destroyed the land for no reason.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Miami Commissioner Christine King released a statement:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The slaughter of these trees along I-95 was brought to my attention by vigilant constituents, and I immediately began looking into it. We learned the property is under FDOT&#8217;s jurisdiction and that these trees, some nearly as old as the highway itself, were cut down illegally. We have a license plate and are working with FDOT to identify who is responsible. I rely on my constituents to be my eyes and ears in the community, and I take their concerns seriously. Whoever did this must be held accountable. Severe penalties must be imposed to discourage such egregious behavior and replacement of the trees is non-negotiable.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m happy it&#8217;s being taken seriously. There&#8217;s an investigation going on, and that matters,&#8221; Moise said.<\/p>\n<p>Acero said she hopes officials determine who was responsible.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I really hope they push forward and get to the bottom of this because it was so unnecessary,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content__tags__label\">In:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City officials are investigating the unauthorized removal of nearly a dozen native mahogany trees along I-95 after families&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1563,13936,123,125,124,807],"class_list":["post-384201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-environment","tag-fallen-trees","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-south-florida"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}