You may have noticed that many trees have lost their leaves or appear dead across the island after the last two storms. High winds and storm surges from the last two storms have shocked and stressed many trees and shrubs across the island.

“Many of these plants are simply stressed and will rebound, but others did not make it or will tip over that threshold in the coming months,” said SCCF Wildlife & Habitat Director Chris Lechowicz.

The issues started two years ago with Hurricane Ian. The extreme storm surge covered most of the island, at high depths, and left pools of salt water in many areas for an extended amount of time. This caused a high percentage of hardwood trees and other vegetation, including exotic vegetation, to perish and stressed many others due to the root systems rotting. Many of those stressed trees have been dying over the last two years.

“The surges from Hurricanes Helene and Milton pushed many of those already struggling trees past the point of no return and are beginning to fall,” said Lechowicz.

The Habitat Management team has noticed primarily Gumbo limbo (Bursera simaruba) and strangler fig (Ficus aurea) trees being the most affected right now.

Whereas, after Hurricane Ian, buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) was the dominant deceased tree we had to deal with on our lands.

“Remember, Sanibel was primarily a grassland due to periodic storm surge events from storms and frequent fire. Hardwood forests and dense shrubby vegetation are not indicative of barrier islands that periodically wash over and are exposed to severe winds,” he added.

Salt-tolerant grasses and plants recover quickly after storm events, as seen on the island.

“Not all plants with no leaves are dead. Scratch a little bit of bark off a branch or two or even the stem and if you see green underneath, the plant is alive still,” he suggests.

Learn about recent impacts to native plants >>>