Hurricane Andrew leveled thousands of trees in 1992. Federal Emergency Management Agency funds replaced many of them, but many planted since have not been maintained and several hundred have died or are not thriving. A disease called canker is eliminating citrus trees. Lethal yellowing disease of palms has not been adequately addressed. Bad pruning keeps many big trees from growing into viable shade trees.
Trees have few lobbyists.
The Florida Legislature eliminated the statewide Urban Forestry program in 1995. Small Business Administration grants for tree plantings were discontinued in 1994. The City of Miami stopped funding its Committee on Beautification and the Environment in 1996. After Hurricane Andrew, the state dropped its program to grow palms resistant to lethal yellowing. South Florida's tree woes are not new.