Four environmental groups have filed suit against the Trump Administration for its approval of the Coral Reef Commons project in Miami, saying that it threatens 20 endangered plants and animals, per a press release issued by the Center for Biological Diversity.

The project at Coral Reef Drive and SW 124 Avenue, approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will include 42 acres of “big box” stores, chain restaurants, and 900 apartment units. The groups say it will destroy a total of 83 acres in the center of one of the largest tracts of pine rockland habitat outside of Everglades National Park. Less than 1 percent of the once-extensive pine rocklands habitat remains. In addition to the Center for Biological Diversity, the groups filing the lawsuit include Tropical Audubon Society, Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition, and South Florida Wildlands Association.   

Among plants and animals threatened by the development include the eastern indigo snake, gopher tortoise, Florida brickell-bush, and two butterflies ─ the Bartram’s scrub-hairstreak and Florida leafwing. Several of these species are limited to the last few tracts of pine rocklands in South Florida, meaning the project represents an imminent threat to their survival.

Rendering courtesy of Coral Reef Commons 

“This mega-development will wipe out some of South Florida’s last ecological gems and diminish quality of life for nearby residents by worsening traffic and sprawl,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director of the Center for Biological Diversity, in the release.

The lawsuit urges the court to overturn approval for the project because of the consequences it will have to endangered and threatened species and their habitat.

The developers obtained a permit to impact endangered species by developing what is known as a “habitat conservation plan,” in which they promise to restore and maintain roughly 51 acres in four separate onsite preserves. Given that pine rocklands habitat is maintained by periodic fire, maintaining these areas as habitat for endangered species will be a potentially impossible task in the presence of such large-scale development.

The developer also pledged to protect 51 acres offsite. With several of the species occurring in few other areas, the groups say these protections fall short of what is needed to ensure their survival.