West Matheson Hammock Park – stop the environmental damage!

They manage West Matheson Hammock Park that contains an extremely rare rockland hammock that is designated both a Natural Forest Community (NFC) and Environmentally Endangered Land (EEL) under the Miami-Dade codes. Ten years ago there was a proposition to build a two lane access road into the park through the hammock forest, along the route of a beautiful Great Florida Birding Trail. The Parks Department management at the time asked their Natural Areas Manager to assess the proposition and reply to it, thus defining the position of the Parks Department on the issue.

The Natural Areas Manager was scathing in his defense of the rockland hammock, noting its rarity and the Comprehensive Development Master Plan’s regulatory protection of this Natural Forest Community asset. After noting the 39 rare, threatened and endangered plant species within the hammock, and the “intimate experience with the unique habitat” that the birding trail offers, Mr. Maguire finished with the Park Department’s position. “In conclusion, there exist viable alternatives to widening the Matheson service road (he was referring to the nature trail). These include the existing entrance on School House Road and the potential acquisition of Camp Mahatchee to the south. While these options may not be popular to some patrons, protection of the rockland hammock at Matheson is the top priority to the Department.”

Needless to say, given this emphatic statement, the nature trail was left undisturbed and the two lane access road plan was trashed. So why is it that ten years later the current Parks Department Director Maria Nardi has closed the entrance on Schoolhouse Road and is forcing 95% of the park traffic through the rare, threatened hammock, in complete contradiction with the environmental priorities of her predecessors? Why did she allow her project manager to start work on the unwanted West Matheson Hammock Park project without bothering to get the necessary environmental permits from the conscientious watchdogs at DERM? Why is she pushing a project that will require heavy machines and months of excavation and pouring of concrete in the middle of the protected hammock? Why is there such a wanton disregard for the basic principles of conservation when dealing with this lovely and rare asset?

Well it’s a very Miami story, the power of lobbying and connections. The president of the Hammocks Lakes Home Owners’ Association, Bill Ogden, seized on the opportunity of the park closure due to the pandemic to lobby the local commissioner and the director of the Parks Department to try to keep the main park entrance on Schoolhouse Road closed to the public. He referred to a previous discussion between Commissioner Suarez and a neighbor, Judge Michael Hanzman, about organizing to meet regarding the entrance to Matheson Hammock Park West, a handy bit of name dropping given that the neighbor who made the first contact is a judge. A private meeting was organized so the HOA could work with a political representative and agree on the Parks Department plans for the park. Funnily enough, the general public were not invited, indeed Mr. Ogden proposed a meeting at a local resident’s house to avoid a “confrontational environment” if the public were in attendance. This meeting resulted in a $5 million project just to stop park goers driving past 12 mansions set far back from the public road.

For almost a year now the park goers have been trying to stop the planned development, as the charm of this park is its unspoiled, natural beauty. Despite almost a year of emails and telephone calls to Miami-Dade politicians, the Recreation and Culture Committee chaired by Commissioner Soutu, Maria Nardi’s boss, has never looked into this project. It has never even been on the agenda, despite hundreds of emails to Maria Nardi. Major design changes were made and never discussed. When they were caught working without the necessary environmental permits required by Miami-Dade codes and our attorney David Winker filed an injunction that forced the County to obtain the required permits, it was never discussed. It represents a complete dereliction of duty by a committee that is supposed to maintain an oversight of Miami-Dade parks.

It has taken many months of work and a couple of lawsuits (including a public records lawsuit) to get any interest from the Miami-Dade political class, but finally the local commissioner Raquel Regalado has agreed that the project should be paused and subjected to public meetings. Thank you for acknowledging the community’s concerns Commissioner, however it cannot stop here! The Parks Department under Nardi does not have a glowing record for efficient management; it has taken them 6 years to start work on Chapman Field Park after the baseball diamonds were closed to the public.

Commissioner Regalado has publicly stated that environmental protection is an argument that resonates with her. In that case she should get the park entrance from Schoolhouse Road reopened to the public immediately – the endangered hammock is suffering daily from being the primary route into the park, this cannot continue. Read what the Natural Areas Manager wrote in 2011, back when the Parks Department were conscientious, “protection of the rockland hammock at Matheson is the top priority to the Department”.

Finally, the West Matheson Hammock Park project should be on the agenda of the next meeting of the Recreation and Culture Committee on the 15th of April. It is long overdue some oversight, and the public would like to hear Maria Nardi justify why the Parks Department no longer prioritize protection of the rockland hammock.