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Expired~ Action Alert Manatee Report from the Last Days of The 106th Congress |
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Endangered Florida Manatee Location: marine habitats, Florida and Georgia The Wildlife Advocacy Project is assisting a national coalition of conservation groups in their effort to protect and save from extinction the highly endangered Florida manatee, by providing information to the public and the media concerning the threats to this species and the importance of legal efforts to protect it from further decline. The coalition -- Save the Manatee Club, Defenders of Wildlife, Humane Society of the United States, Sierra Club, Animal Welfare Institute, International Wildlife Coalition, and Florida Defenders of the Environment -- recently brought a lawsuit, Save the Manatee Club, et al. v. Lt. General Joe N. Ballard, et al. , Civ. No. 00-0076 (D.D.C. January 13, 2000), to force the Army Corps of Engineers and the Fish and Wildlife Service to take actions to reduce the number of manatees that are killed and maimed each year by motor boats and development in the state of Florida. The groups are being represented by Meyer & Glitzenstein. These federal agencies have never considered the cumulative impacts on manatees of their decisions to allow the construction of thousands of docks, marinas, and access ramps -- to facilitate increased use of watercraft that is harmful to the manatee. The lawsuit seeks to require the agencies to consider such impacts, as required by the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act, and to limit the number and location of such activities. Some Facts About the Florida Manatee: The
Florida manatee is one of the most endangered marine mammals in
coastal waters in the United States. It is a large animal with dark
gray, wrinkled skin, paddle-like forelimbs, no hind limbs, and a
large flat tail. The slow-moving manatee lives in fresh, brackish
and marine habitats, and prefers floating sea grasses and other
vegetation. It has been listed as an endangered species since 1967.
The major threats to the manatee are Despite these problems, the Army Corps of Engineers continues to approve numerous permits each year for new boat ramp and other watercraft access construction -- increasing the number of boats in manatee habitat. Neither it nor the Fish and Wildlife Service -- the federal agency charged with ensuring that the manatee does not become extinct -- make any effort to analyze the cumulative effects of these decisions, in violation of several federal laws. In addition, the State of Florida does not adequately enforce low speed limits on watercraft, designed to lessen the number of collisions with manatees each year. back to the topWildlife Advocacy
Project Phone: (202) 518-3700 |
watercraft colliding with the animals, and destruction and degradation
of habitat caused by widespread development throughout the species'
Florida range. Although there are only about 2400 manatees remaining,
last year 268 manatees were killed in Florida waters, and 82 of
those were killed by boat collisions. In addition, many more manatees
are maimed each year by boats -- according to the Fish and Wildlife
Service, "most living manatees bear scars or wounds from vessel
strikes."