Real Estate partner Spencer Crowley spoke to the Miami Herald about the various obstacles to a proposed solution to the rising sea levels that threaten Miami’s coastline: planting mangrove trees. Mangroves create a “living shoreline,” providing a habitat for native wildlife and protecting the coast from the battering of incoming waves, offering a more environmentally friendly solution than installing a higher seawall. Despite theoretical public support, efforts to implement mangroves in Miami-Dade County have all failed, thanks to the county’s environmental permitting agency, says Crowley.

“It boils down to the fact that [Miami-Dade’s Department of Environmental Resources Management] does not facilitate living shorelines, that is an absolute truth that may be disputed by DERM,” Crowley said. “I’ve never had a project where they facilitate living shorelines. That’s different than saying they oppose it.”