October 31, 2018 — MARATHON, Fl. — The Florida Keys marine environment likely will need decades to recover from Hurricane Irma, scientists told marine advisers Oct. 16.

“Sobering,” said Bruce Popham, chairman of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, about post-hurricane survey reports on mangroves, sponges and water quality.

Mangrove forests that lay in the Lower Keys path of Irma in September 2017 endured “extensive canopy damage from high winds,” typically losing more than half their canopy cover, Kara Radabaugh of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a briefing to the Sanctuary Advisory Council, meeting in Marathon.

Mangroves that once had 85 to 100 percent canopy cover were left with about 40 percent cover, she said, noting that larger trees took the most severe hits.

“Canopy cover recovered from 40 percent to 60 percent within two to four months,” Radabaugh said, “but recovery plateaued.”

Read the full story at Keys News