SAVE THE ENDANGERED MANATEE
compiled by Dee Finney
MANATEES AT STARRED LOCATIONS
Also known as "the sea cow," the manatee is one of the most endangered marine
mammals in coastal waters of the United States today. It is a large marine
mammal with dark gray, wrinkled skin, paddle-like forelimbs, no hind limbs,
and a large flat tail. This slow-moving mammal lives in both fresh and brackish
waters and feeds on floating sea grasses and other sub-aquatic vegetation.
The manatee has been listed as endangered since 1967 and continues to face
serious threats from boat collisions and destruction or degradation of habitat
caused by widespread development throughout the species' range in Florida.
It is estimated that there are only about 3,200 manatees remaining
in Florida's wild waters. In 2001, 81 manatees were killed by collisions
Despite thousands of emails, Governor
Jeb Bush of Florida has signed SB 540, legislation that will harm endangered
Pushed by the speed boat industry, this
law weakens the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, and will lead to the death or
injury of countless manatees from propellor blades.
Please call Governor Bush's office
at (850) 488-4441 to express your personal outrage.
We're not giving up. Defenders of Wildlife plans to step up our efforts to
help win more protections for manatees in Florida. If you can, please make a tax-deductible
donation to help underwrite these expanded programs.
Thank you for your caring help to save wildlife and its habitat for future
Thanks for all you can do to help the manatee.
Vice President for Membership
Defenders of Wildlife
Subj: [earthchanges] Florida DEN Alert: Manatees in Trouble Again
Dear Florida Activist,
I am writing to make you aware that, despite growing threats to the imperilled
Florida manatee, on Wednesday, November 19, the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FFWCC) may decide to downlist the manatee from
endangered to threatened, and thus reduce necessary protections. The FFWCC
is reacting to a petition from the Coastal Conservation Association (speed
The association jumped on the opportunity to use a new flawed rule for listing
at-risk species in the state of Floridaa rule that the FFWCC is currently
reviewing for needed changes. We should not let special interest groups pressure
the FFWCC into bad wildlife management decisions, nor should we accept a
decision from the commissioners that would downplay the significance of
scientific expertise. Scientific evidence, mortality and injury statistics,
continuing habitat loss, and increasing boat traffic, all add up to the fact
that the manatee needs our help if it is ever to have a secure future in
the state of Florida.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
At the FFWCC meeting on November 19, I am going to speak in favor of strong
manatee protection and for a deferral of any downlisting until the listing
rule is fixed and full scientific review of the manatee's biological status
is complete. Although I can represent Defenders of Wildlife and its thousands
of members who care about manatees, the decision makers need to hear many
voices. If you've attended a manatee public meeting with me in the past,
you know that the special interest groups show up in force. It's critical
that Governor Jeb Bush and the FFWCC hear from you too. My voice for Defenders
is greatly strengthened when the decision makers see for themselves that
you and I are working together for wildlife protection.
The FFWCC meeting is coming up very soonnext Wednesday, November 19.
Please e-mail the Governor and FFWCC at your earliest opportunity through
http://www.denaction.org, or call FFWCC Executive Director Ken Haddad at
(850) 487-3796 and urge that they keep the existing protections.
A record number of manatees were killed by watercraft collisions in 2002.
There are an estimated one million boats in Florida waters. Let's help give
the manatees a chance.
Laurie Macdonald, Wildlife Zoologist
Director, Florida Office, St. Petersburg, FL
Defenders of Wildlife
PS - Please forward this email to three friends who also will help Florida's
Numbers are estimated*
|THE ENDANGERED MANATEE:
There are only an estimated 2,400 manatees left in Florida's coastal waters.
Endangered manatees need a place to live and breed in peace without human
In 1999, more manatees were killed from human-related causes than ever before
in recorded history. The majority of these animals were killed by boats.
However, the greatest overall threat to manatee survival is loss of their
habitat to development.
In part because of lawsuits that were filed earlier this year (see below
for more information), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering
establishing refuges and sanctuaries for manatees, areas set aside with
minimal or no human activity allowed. Manatees need protected areas
where they are not dodging speeding boats or being harassed for such activities
as feeding, breeding, and resting. They need protected areas not just for
their survival, but also for their recovery as a species. Under the Federal
Endangered Species Act, the Service is charged with the duty not only to
protect endangered species like the manatees, but also to coordinate their
In addition, these areas would protect far more than manatees. Many other
endangered and threatened marine creatures would also be protected in these
refuges and sanctuaries. Shore birds and fish could all thrive in these
To establish sanctuaries and refuges, the service must take comments from
the public -- to find out how much support there is for setting aside these
protected areas. The deadline for their receiving the comments is October
Everyone needs to help. You can fax, or send a letter, send an email, or
even fill out a postcard, saying that you support the proposal to designate
manatee refuges and sanctuaries. Tell the Service that the future of the
manatee depends on the adoption and implementation of a comprehensive system
of sanctuaries and refuges throughout their range. Now's our chance, we can't
afford to miss this opportunity for stronger manatee protection. Many
Comments should be addressed to:
Field Supervisor Dave Hankla
Jacksonville Field Office
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
6620 Southpoint Dr. South, #310 Jacksonville, FL 32216-0958
If you want more information about manatees, visit Save the Manatee Club's
or contact them: SMC, 500 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland, FL 32751-4458; phone
Manatee Deaths Linked to Red Tide Residue
FORT MYERS, FL (AP) -- Scientists with the Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say red
tide-tainted sea grass has been linked to the deaths
of 27 manatees whose bodies were found in Lee County
waters in late March and early April. It is unusual
for such a large number of animals to die when red
tide is not present in the water.
Scientists say new research shows
that deadly red tide toxins can linger
on sea grass for weeks after the
deadly algae fades from surrounding
waters. They think the threatened sea
cows ate the contaminated grass while
leaving the Caloosahatchee River, a
refuge where the manatees shelter from
cold winter waters.
Necropsies showed the animals died
quickly. Red tide is caused by a bloom
of the single-celled alga Karenia
brevis, which contains a powerful
toxin that kills fish and other marine
Created: 4/23/2007 8:03:42 AM
Wildlife Service Considers Removing
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 9, 2007; A03
MIAMI -- The Florida manatee,
this state's imperiled environmental
icon, in 2006 suffered its most dismal
year on record.
Of a population of about 3,200,
416 died in 2006, the highest number
of deaths recorded in 30 years of
statistics. Many died in collisions
with boat propellers.
Now, according to an internal
memo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has been drafting plans under
which the celebrated marine mammals
would lose their protection as an
The planned reclassification of
the slow-moving sea cows from
"endangered" to "threatened" is
expected to elicit criticism from
environmental groups that see it as
part of the Bush administration's
effort to poke holes in the Endangered
The new designation would make
it easier to loosen boating speed
limits and restrictions on waterfront
development that have been instituted
to make Florida safer for the species,
environmental leaders said.
"This is absolutely the wrong
time to down-list manatees," said
Patrick Rose, executive director of
the Save the Manatee Club and an
aquatic biologist who served as the
first federal manatee coordinator.
"The terrible thing is, while the last
year for manatees was bad, the future
could be even worse."
According to the memo sent from
Fish and Wildlife to the White House,
the agency was going to say that the
manatee "no longer meets the
definition of an endangered species."
"In Florida, manatees are
exhibiting positive growth rates and
high adult survival rates along the
entire east coast and in the northwest
region," the memo said. "There is
still uncertainty about the status of
manatees in the southwest region of
The agency had reached those
conclusions after completing a
"Five-Year Review" of manatees. But an
agency spokesman, while confirming
that the recommendation in the memo,
dated March 26, reflected the agency's
thinking at the time, said it is
possible it might be altered by the
time the review is released this
"Until it gets final signatures
on it, it could change," said Chuck
Underwood, a spokesman with the
agency's Jacksonville office. "It is
an internal document. . . . Is it the
way we were going at the time? Yes. Is
it also possible it could change?
He declined to comment further
until the review is released.
Environmental groups are already
critical of the move.
"We've entered the witching hour
of the Bush administration, where
there are going to be frantic
lame-duck attempts to do under the
table what they cannot pass through
Congress," said Jeff Ruch, executive
director of Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility, an
environmental group, which obtained
Florida manatees and their legal
protections have been the subject of a
years-long battle pitting
environmentalists against some Florida
developers and boating groups. The
animals enter other states during the
summer, but nearly all winter in
By all accounts, the Florida
manatee population has increased since
Boating speed limits, or no-wake
zones, are believed to have reduced
collisions. At the same time,
development restrictions helped limit
construction in manatee habitats.
But the species continues to
face threats from increased boat
traffic, red-tide outbreaks and
waterfront development. The planned
closure of some coastal power plants,
which have become an artificial refuge
because they release warm water that
hundreds of manatees have come to rely
on in winter months, is also
considered potentially catastrophic.
Boating groups and developers
have lobbied to ease some rules meant
to protect the animals, arguing that
the manatee population has stabilized
and is big enough.
A letter from lobbyist Wade
Hopping put it this way: "I would hope
that instead of using the Endangered
Species Act and the Marine Mammal
Protection Act as devices to limit the
growth of boating in Florida that we
would focus on a plan that would
calculate with scientific certainty
how many manatees Florida waters can
support and proceed to develop a
system to ensure that that number of
healthy manatees share the waters of
the state with Florida's responsible
Developers and boating groups
recorded a major victory last year,
when Florida's Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission approved
dropping "endangered" in favor of
"threatened." All seven commissioners
were appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush
The coming dispute over the
manatees will revolve around the size
and stability of the current
A 2006 Florida Fish and Wildlife
study, used by the state panel that
recommended the reclassification,
predicted that the population could
drop about 30 percent over the next
"There are many people working
in field for the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service who would agree this
is not the time to down-list the
species," Rose said. "My hope is that
the administration will listen."
MANATEES INJURED BY BOATS
My name is Marion E. and I have
a lot on the Santa Fe river, Suwannee
county side .The weekend of Memorial
there were several Manatees swimming
that just didn't swim right we have
watch them many weekends but felt that
something was wrong, later that night
we saw a dead manatee float by the
dock. This weekend there were 10-15
laying on my sand bar in front of the
dock. We could see motor cuts on all
of these beautiful animals. Even the
babies. I don't know much about the
wildlife but they came and got the
dead one to determine what caused the
death, but if he will look at the
others he will know what killed it was
the boat motors, we have boats in this
little river that should be in the
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON THE LAWSUITS:
A coalition of 19 national, state, and local organizations have filed two
major lawsuits -- one against the federal government and one against the
state government -- charging that the Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have failed to
enforce the laws protecting manatees. The suit attempts to make the agencies
enforce the existing laws, already on the books.
The organizations filing the suits include Save the Manatee Club, The Humane
Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife, International Wildlife
Coalition, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Sierra Club, Animal Welfare
Institute, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Citizens Association of
Bonita Beach, Responsible Growth Management Coalition, Environmental
Confederation of Southwest Florida, Florida Audubon Society, Florida Public
Interest Research Group, Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society, Audubon Society
of Southwest Florida, Biscayne Bay Foundation, Florida Defenders of the
Environment (federal suit only), Florida Wildlife Federation (state suit
only), and the Pegasus Foundation.
1601Connecticut Ave, NW #700
Washington, D.C. 20009-1035
Facsimile (202) 588-5049
During the winter months, manatees head for warm waters, such as springs
and power plant discharges. For the remainder of the year, manatees are widely
dispersed. The following is a list of some of the places where you can see
the endangered Florida manatee in captivity or in the wild.
MANATEES IN CAPTIVITY
Epcot - (407) 824-4321
--Manatees are found at the Living Seas exhibit.
Entrance fee required.
Homosassa Springs State Park - (352) 628-5343
Homosassa Springs, FL
--The Homosassa Springs State Park has an underwater viewing area at the
main spring where visitors will see manatees up close. Three educational
programs are presented each day by knowledgeable park staff or
Entrance fee required.
Lowry Park Zoo - (813) 932-0245
--Lowry Zoo is a manatee rehabilitation facility. Manatees may be seen throughout
the year. Educational kiosks available.
Entrance fee required.
Miami Seaquarium - (305) 361-5705
--The Miami Seaquarium is a manatee rehabilitation facility. Staff are available
to answer questions at the viewing area.
Entrance fee required.
Sea World - (407) 363-2613
--SeaWorld is a manatee rehabilitation facility. Also includes a theme park
manatee program. Staff available at viewing area.
Entrance fee required.
South Florida Museum - (941) 746-4131
--Parker Manatee Aquarium is the home of Snooty, the oldest captive manatee
Entrance fee required.
MANATEES IN THE WILD (Winter Viewing)
To help protect Florida's wildlife, we encourage you to watch wildlife from
a distance and use binoculars or zoom lenses to extend your view. Florida's
manatee population needs the wildlife sanctuaries, springs and warm water
sites to survive during the winter months. If you visit any of the wild manatee
viewing areas, please give the manatees the space they need and do not disturb
them if they are resting. Remember to "Watch" Florida's wildlife today so
that future generations can "SEE" them in their natural environment.
Blue Spring State Park - (904) 775-3663
Orange City, FL
--Blue Springs State Park is a popular wintering spot for Florida manatees
in the St. Johns River in Volusia County. The park schedules manatee programs
throughout the day. The majority of manatees at this location are "known
individuals," recognizable by their unique scar patterns. Most of the manatees
from the Save the
Manatee Club's "Adopt a Manatee" program frequent this site.
Entrance fee required.
Crystal River and
Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge - (352) 563-2088
Crystal River, FL
--Boats are required in order to reach the King's Bay Manatee Sanctuary.
Visitors to the site should know safe boating precautions and remember to
not harass the manatees in this area. Boat rentals available. Call the refuge
for information packets before visiting.
Fanning Springs State Recreation and Conservation Area - (904)
Fanning Springs, FL
--Manatees occasionally are present in Fanning Springs, particularly Big
Fanning Spring. They can be found at similar areas up and down the Suwannee
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge - (407) 861-0667
Brevard County (Merritt Island), FL
--Manatees may be viewed from the platform on the Haulover Canal.
Manatee Observation and Education Center - (561) 466-1600
Moore's Creek-Ft. Pierce Utilities Authority discharge canal, Fort Pierce,
--In winter months manatees use the discharge canal as a warm water site.
The manatees may be viewed from the Manatee Observation and Education Center
at this site.
Lee County Manatee Park
Orange River-FPL discharge canal, State Road 80, Ft. Myers, FL
--Visit the Lee County Manatee Park during the winter. Manatees use the discharge
canal as a warm water site. Volunteers available to answer questions. Parking
Tampa Electric Company (TECO) - (813) 228-4161
Apollo Beach, FL
--TECO provides a visitor center, an overlook and walkway so that visitors
can see the manatees directly over the discharge canal.
Winter viewing only.
Wakulla River and the St. Marks River
St. Marks, FL
--Manatees may be seen by boat or canoe on these scenic rivers during the
summer months. Canoe rentals available.
Education and Information
Return to BPSM
ON ENDANGERED MANATEES
Warm Mineral Springs
(941) 12200 San Servando Avenue
Warm Mineral Springs
This natural spring is a focal watering place and spa of world
forming a two-and-a-half-acre lake and some nine million gallons of water
Temperature of the lake holds at a year-round
MANATEE VIEWING PLACES AND PLACES OF INTEREST
NEWS AND RESTRICTIONS
MANATEE RECOVERY PROGRAM - PDF
SETTLEMENT - APRIL, 2001
WARM MINERAL SPRINGS
AREA DESIGNATED MANATEE REFUGE
MINERAL SPRINGS: SARASOTA COUNTY
Any questions? e-mail Dee777@aol.com
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