The latest expansion project at Port Everglades isn't your usual construction job.
Acres of mangroves were pulled out and removed to make room for ships to turn around. But not only have those mangroves been replaced, they've added more and it could make a huge difference to the Port.
According to executives, the mangroves will be monitored closely during the next year because of a project costing nearly $300 million.
Those fragile plants now hold the key to unlocking a bright new future for Port Everglades.
Bob Musser is head of the environmental projects at the Port. He and his staff have been charged with making sure the mangroves grow.
Bob and Port Chief Executive Steven Cernack said, right now, in a shipyard, the mangroves are a top priority. A project pinned right now around $270 million is riding on it.
"With all the growth that's going on here at Port Everglades, we are berth-constrained," Cernack explained.
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In other words, the Port needs more places to dock the massive ships.
Here's the plan: "Create up to five additional berths to adequately use our facilities.”
In order to expand, land with a little more than eight acres of protected mangroves is set to be wiped out. We're talking about plants necessary for our local ecosystem to survive.
"Most aquatic species spend some point in their life growing up in mangroves for protection, for food, for cover," Musser said.
What the Port has done, and the state has mandated, is double the amount ripped out with the new ones you see today. In fact, the Port can't touch the expansion site until they've proven new mangroves can thrive.
"They do have to grow for a year under a term the state calls trending towards success," Cernack said.
With an expansion project and the vitality of our environment on the line, Bob and Steven said success is what they'll have.
NBC 6 was told that if one of those mangroves die, a new one is ready to be rushed in.
