So sad... Sea grape trees being cut down.

(tu)(tu)(tu)

Show me where on shoreline they are still growing like weeds.
Actually show me shore lines.
The fact is, we're not lacking weeds, but trees.
Glad all of you can come from somewhere else and think you know what best.

OK, lesson learned. I just let my environmental liberal heart get swayed by the posting. I do like trees and bushes.

Didn't realize sea grapes are considered a weed there. When I see a sensational Facebook posting I usually check it out on Snopes.

However I posted without doing my due diligence. Me Bad.

You're not here yet.

I just found out you can make wine with the grapes. I'm all in with saving them now!

Here's some other uses:
Coccoloba uvifera is most often used in landscaping, as it is a popular ornamental plant in south Florida yards as well as a dune stabilizer and coastal windbreak. Tall sea grape plants are used to make a light barrier between coastlines to protect sea turtles.[6]

The wood of the sea grape is sometimes used for firewood, making charcoal and even cabinetry.[6]

The reddish fruits of the sea grape may be eaten raw, cooked into jellies and jams, or fermented into sea grape wine.[7] Sea grape wine may also be fermented into sea grape vinegar, which is also useful in cooking.

The sap of the sea grape is used in the West Indies and Jamaica for dyeing and tanning of leather.[6]

It is sometimes used as a subject for bonsai

OT and Sparty, I'm particularly incensed with the stupidity.

Me too - absolutely, totally and unequivocally although I'm not "incensed" about it, just plain gobsmacked. It's jaw-droppingly incomprehensible (although this is not to say it's unprecedented) that such passion can be produced when not one single person who evinces it knows anything other than one little fact - that a property owner has had a couple of trees removed from her property. Heavens to Betsy. :@) This is seriously a potential case for Judge Judy.

Alana dropping the Bahn Here on us? I love trees. I do. The difference is I'm not sad, devastated, gutted, or torn up when someone does something to trees on THEIR property.

OK, lesson learned. I just let my environmental liberal heart get swayed by the posting. I do like trees and bushes.

Didn't realize sea grapes are considered a weed there. When I see a sensational Facebook posting I usually check it out on Snopes.

However I posted without doing my due diligence. Me Bad.

Calling them a weed is a bit of an exaggeration, even though they grow like weeds. But they aren't close to being endangered either.

The VI isn't totally backwards in this arena. It requires permission to cut trees that are near streams and guts, and there is also a shoreline covenant that requires permission. I don't know if this landowner required permission for cutting these particular trees. But I do know that the VI allows cutting if the tree interferes with the development of private property.

The problem here was overreaction without knowing the facts. Maybe the owner does plan on creating a barren landscape, and if so, shame on her. But we don't know that. We don't know if the trees needed to be cut for health or safety reasons. We have no idea what the owner planned to do, just rumor. Maybe she's planning on leaving those stumps, and allowing new growth, which will happen if they are left alone. Maybe she's planning to replant once development is done (if it's done). I hope so. But to extrapolate cutting those few trees into a chicken little "no beach left for future generations" reaction, and to sanctimoniously accuse people of not caring about protecting the environment, because they weren't outraged enough over this specific incident, without knowing the facts, was over the top dramatic and condescendingly rude in its own right.

I welcome anyone to the islands who cares about protecting what we have. The VI, government and residents alike, has a long way to go in doing that. But we need to be pragmatic about it, not throw emotional hissy fits.

OK, lesson learned. I just let my environmental liberal heart get swayed by the posting. I do like trees and bushes.

Didn't realize sea grapes are considered a weed there. When I see a sensational Facebook posting I usually check it out on Snopes.

However I posted without doing my due diligence. Me Bad.

Calling them a weed is a bit of an exaggeration, even though they grow like weeds. But they aren't close to being endangered either.

The VI isn't totally backwards in this arena. It requires permission to cut trees that are near streams and guts, and there is also a shoreline covenant that requires permission. I don't know if this landowner required permission for cutting these particular trees. But I do know that the VI allows cutting if the tree interferes with the development of private property.

The problem here was overreaction without knowing the facts. Maybe the owner does plan on creating a barren landscape, and if so, shame on her. But we don't know that. We don't know if the trees needed to be cut for health or safety reasons. We have no idea what the owner planned to do, just rumor. Maybe she's planning on leaving those stumps, and allowing new growth, which will happen if they are left alone. Maybe she's planning to replant once development is done (if it's done). I hope so. But to extrapolate cutting those few trees into a chicken little "no beach left for future generations" reaction, and to sanctimoniously accuse people of not caring about protecting the environment, because they weren't outraged enough over this specific incident, without knowing the facts, was over the top dramatic and condescendingly rude in its own right.

I welcome anyone to the islands who cares about protecting what we have. The VI, government and residents alike, has a long way to go in doing that. But we need to be pragmatic about it, not throw emotional hissy fits.

It is way easier just to be outraged and project your outrage at others, all the while sitting back with a smug sense that you are somehow a better person for your outrage. The level of sanctimony on this earth is reaching a tipping point. I've been told im "poisoning my family" for not buying "organic" produce. I won't type my response but I'm quite sure this particular privileged woman's mascara had some streaks when she got to her vehicle at Moe's. I don't have the time or inclination to worry about what a person does with something that belongs to them as long as it doesn't affect the health and safety of my family. This particular person could build a giant asphalt square there and I don't care.

I'm waiting to find out who has a way to dig a cistern where a tree exists without cutting down the tree

And GO!

I'm waiting to find out who has a way to dig a cistern where a tree exists without cutting down the tree

And GO!

Hold the tree gently by a newer limb, sing Kumbaya, and unleash your unicorn whose farts will persuade the tree to move to a location more desirable. Namaste

i see you all are still on this topic

I cut down a Sea Grape tree several years ago with intentions of using space for other plantings. I cut to the ground (actually below ground) and even drilled holes in the base in an attempt to kill it. Before long, it started growing back and is bigger than it ever was before being cut to the ground. Oh well, the tree wins and stands strong.

I cut down a Sea Grape tree several years ago with intentions of using space for other plantings. I cut to the ground (actually below ground) and even drilled holes in the base in an attempt to kill it. Before long, it started growing back and is bigger than it ever was before being cut to the ground. Oh well, the tree wins and stands strong.

I'm amazed at the resilience of the trees here. I was ready to kill my neighbor for having a row of Neem trees butchered once because she'd lost her ocean view. They were my noise buffer fro adjacent condos. Within 3 years they came back, bigger and thicker than before. We also had to have a 20 foot Schefflera removed in August, using a backhoe to get the stump out, because it was attacking our cistern. The leftover roots put up suckers for a good 4 months afterward.

I'm not a legal resident yet, but will be soon. I'm all over this, sign me up. My heart is broken over this. Very sad. Keep me in the loop, I arrive Sunday. I'll be very proactive with environmental issues.

First and foremost before getting your undies all in a bunch, verify whether or not all the trees are being cut down, if it's the owner of the property having them cut down, if they are endangered. Yes, sea grapes grow fast and will replace themselves in fairly short order. If it's the property owner that is doing this then mind your own business rather than trying to be a rebel without a cause. You will quickly realize once you are a legal resident and have spent a little time on an island that minding one's own business is a smarter and safer way to go.

That MYOB attitude is just one of the reasons the islands are such a mess.
No one wants to get involved.
I'm not just speaking of seagrass trees.
"If you see something, say something."

That MYOB attitude is just one of the reasons the islands are such a mess.
No one wants to get involved.
I'm not just speaking of seagrass trees.
"If you see something, say something."

(tu)

This is seriously going off topic but apathy has no boundaries.

OK are you serious about the wood of Seagrape trees good for smoking food? We are having a battle at my house. My wife hates the Seagrape trees and wants them down. They don't bother me.

OK are you serious about the wood of Seagrape trees good for smoking food? We are having a battle at my house. My wife hates the Seagrape trees and wants them down. They don't bother me.

Yes. I would collect when I had to trim or others did and let it dry out thoroughly, maybe a year. I keep an ongoing supply, using the oldest first. It is a very hard wood and burns a long time.

OK are you serious about the wood of Seagrape trees good for smoking food? We are having a battle at my house. My wife hates the Seagrape trees and wants them down. They don't bother me.

They are very good using with smoking or grilling as flavor. Just watch for termites as they love it and can and will infest it.

Pretty much any fruit tree wood is good for smoking. I had a big genip tree seriously torn apart during a storm and spent many hours laboriously hand-sawing the fallen limbs (ah, not fond memories!) but stacked the wood on the off-chance that it might just be useful some time in the future. It was when I bought a smoker!

Just don't use wood from an unknown tree and accidentally smoke Mancineel.
Seriously Toxic whether handling, using as firewood. Or climbing.