We are asking for the Miami-Dade County Commissioners to delay moving forward with item 3E the 10/20 vote regarding the leasing of Miami Wilds. Miami Wilds is a proposed water park, hotel, and retail center that would be located at 12400 SW152 street. This area is a known biological hotspot. There are several endangered and endemic species here. In addition to the endangered species, the nearby Richmond Pine Rocklands are endangered habitat. As of now we only have 2% left due to sprawling urbanization. The Florida bonneted bat, Miami tiger beetle, and Bartram’s scrub-hairstreak butterfly are the species most under threat by Miami Wilds.

The Miami tiger beetle is so critically endangered that it was thought to be extinct from 1934 to 2007. The Bartram’s scrub-hairstreak butterfly was nearly driven to extinction due to shrinking habitat and declines in its host plant, the pineland croton. The Rock Pinelands are fire dependent, many species including the Miami tiger beetle and Bartram’s scrub-hairstreak butterfly depend on fires to clear debris like pine needles and leaves from the forest floor so they can carry out their life cycles. The proximity of Miami Wilds to their habitat will prevent regular controlled burns and will surely have an impact on population sizes. The Miami tiger beetle is extremely rare, found in only two locations in Miami-Dade county, and only an average of about 20 beetles have been seen during surveys, indicating a small and vulnerable population.  

The Florida bonneted bat was classified as its own species in 2004 through genetic testing that distinguished it from its relative, the Wagner’s bonneted bat. As of now, it is estimated that less than 1,000 are left and Zoo Miami is providing roost to 45 individuals making it the second largest known population across their entire range. 

The site's location contains a large open space used as a parking lot next to a Pines Rockland forest. A large part of the argument for the park in the last meeting (9/11/20) was that they were going to build over a parking lot that had no life. This is simply not true. The Florida bonneted bat is large and needs wide open space to forage. The fact that the parking lot is human-made is entirely irrelevant, and from the species' perspective, it is an open space for foraging. Due to sprawling urbanization and loss of natural habitat, this is the closest thing this species has to a field near a forest line. The presence of the parking lot likely contributed to the choosing of this space as their home.

Bat Conservation International has conducted a study that identified the Zoo-Miami parking lot as one of the key feeding areas for the Florida bonneted bats in Miami-Dade County. Information about the findings of the study can be found here:

https://www.batcon.org/reckless-miami-wild/

To summarize, acoustic studies have shown that up to 70% of the bonneted bat calls that they recorded (from a total of 10 sites across the Miami-Dade County) were from the open space adjacent to Zoo Miami. Their data supports a previous study carried out by Zoo-Miami in 2012 and highlights the importance of this open area as one of the critical feeding areas for this species of bat. However, the bats are highly unlikely going to be able to use this area if the Miami Wilds waterpark, hotel, and shopping area project is approved. On average 6,000 calls can be heard per night, compared to the next largest population which averages around 1,000 calls per night. Over the 105-day study bonneted bats were detected in this location 103 nights.

The 2012 Zoo Miami study can be found here:

 https://images.miaminewtimes.com/media/pdf/acoustic_survey_of_eumops_floridanus_in_three_miami-dade_cou.pdf

An excerpt from the study:

“Eumops floridanus occupies the properties of the Richmond Tract. Important foraging locations for Eufl are the large parking lot at Zoo Miami, the southernmost lake on Zoo Miami property and to a lesser extent, the lake present at L&P. Eufl appear to prefer large unobstructed areas in which to forage with lengths greater than 1500 ft and widths at least 125-150ft.”

Let us be clear, we are not against Miami Wilds/industry in general, we are against it in this location because it clearly violates the endangered species act. We are not against the commissioners; we want to bring to their attention that there have been studies going back to 2006 to present proving the presence of endangered species including the Florida bonneted bat.

In 2006 a referendum was approved by Miami-Dade voters to install a water park and retail area in Miami-Dade County provided the water park would not be built on environmentally sensitive lands. Research over the last fourteen years show that this area is in fact environmentally sensitive. The area adjacent to Zoo Miami is clearly not the appropriate setting for a water park.

We ask the Commissioners to carefully consider this data and delay the 10/20/20 vote to allow time for comprehension of data, meetings with specialist, and to explore other locations.

The Kendall Federation of Homeowner Association have been in contact with the Homestead Council about finding an alternative location that would be in an area that is not environmentally sensitive and would rival the original vision of Miami Wilds instead of the diminished size of the park should it be put in the current site location. Seventeen days is not long enough to consider all this information and make an informed, responsible decision on Miami Wilds. Our groups intends to meet with Commissioners to ask they delay the 10/20/20 vote and explore alternative locations, but we still need your help. 

We want the Commissioners to know that we are aware of the endangered species in this location and we are aware of the protection they are entitled to through the Endangered Species Act.

Please help us let the Miami-Dade Commissioner know we are watching. We are aware of the threat to our biodiversity, we are aware of the legal ramifications, and we will be voting.