RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Who cut down trees and killed mangroves in a Palm Beach County neighborhood?
WPTV investigative reporter Dave Bohman is pressing for answers and is listening to landowners who say this is a clear case of cutting environmentally protected plants on waterfront property.
WATCH BELOW: Singer Island property owner says mangroves 'destroyed'
Fane Lozman, the owner of several plots of land on Pine Point Road on Singer Island, said his lots were all wooded and filled with vegetation.
Lozman told WPTV that sometime this week, someone clear-cut one of those plots, killing mangroves and cutting down trees.
"There's a thicket of mangroves, and they've all been destroyed," Lozman said.
He calls the act an environmental crime because of the destruction of protected species of mangroves.
"They came out with chainsaws and just leveled both edges of the property and continued to widen it," Lozman said.
This week, WPTV saw three Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) crews surveying what was left of the land.
WATCH BELOW: Singer Island property owner seeks answers after mangroves cut down
So far, no one has been charged or cited for any environmental law violations.
Daniel Taylor owns land nearby and said he reported the activity to authorities.
"The land has been decimated," Taylor said. "And the other thing is, this is private property, and you do have to stay off private property."
Lozman said whoever cleared the trees also cut paths to the Lake Worth Lagoon.
"We want the state to come in and say, 'Hey, this guy who did this, you're going to have to come in and restore it,'" Lozman said. "It may cost you $200,000, but we want it restored to the way it was."
WPTV reached out to the FDEP about the issue. A spokeswoman for the agency confirmed they are investigating but had no other details.
