Invasive pines must be removed In response to the letter writer who suggested that invasive Australian pines in Venice not be cut, I recommend she research the subject at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu ...

The Australian pine was introduced in the 1800s as a salt tolerant tree to provide shade but ended up being a massive problem. The needle-like-leaves kill native plants around it, harms nesting ...

A category one hurricane with wind speed of 74 mph usually does the job. Our native South Florida slash pines, Pinus elliottii, are more hurricane resistant than Australian pines.