Issues, Florida Chapter

East Indian Manatee
(an endangered species whose main habitat is within Florida waters)

The Manatee Committee works to protect manatees and their habitat, and to maintain their status as an endangered species

Threats

The state under the guise of the FWCC is maneuvering to move the manatee from a Florida Endangered Species to threatened or a species of special concern. This in spite of 2005 being the next to highest mortality of manatees in Florida. The US House passed a bill that would take away the designation of critical habitat for manatees and also amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act to remove manatees from protection under the Act. The push to do these things comes from the well financed marine manufactures and dock builders and home builders of waterfront homes. Also some cities who want to develop their waterfronts to the max.

In the Crystal River area where the manatee herd is looked at as being stable the US Fish and Wildlife Service allows people to swim with the endangered manatee and touch them with one hand if the mammal "approaches them." This has led to advertising "Come play with the manatee" and constant harassment of manatees in the waters of Kings Bay and the Homosassa River. No place else in the waters of the state are swimmers allowed in the water with manatees or to touch them. It has led to confusion around the state and must somehow come to an end. However the dive shops will take this with a violent reaction. They make lots of money taking folks on diving trips to harass manatees. The USFWS lacks the funds and the willingness to confront what is happening in this area where people are encouraged to come and "play" with the manatees.

Last year the USFWS, FWCC and DEP put together a Manatee Forum, actually a conflict resolution committee with 11 environmental groups and 11 opposing organizations, many living on the misinformation several of the groups have repeatedly told about. Helen Spivey, Sierra Manatee Issue Chair, has been appointed by the organizing groups, FWS, FWCC and DEP to represent Sierra in this conflict resolution. Each appointed member can have 2 alternates who must attend each meeting or they will not be allowed to participate should they be called upon to be the alternate should the appointed member be unable to be there.

OPPORTUNITIES

Education of the citizens of Florida and other parts of the country and the world to what the state and federal government is attempting to do so they can do a citizen’s campaign to protect the habitat of the manatee. The state derives a large amount of money from the tourists that come to see this marine mammal and an educated public would let the state know that they disapprove of what is being attempted to favor an industry.

Education toward allowing the manatee to remain "wild" as a means for survival and encourage people who come to the Crystal River, Homosassa area to obey state law and not get in the water with them, never touch them and help them remain wild so they can survive.

Another venue is a campaign to protect coastal areas, so designated in the Comp Plans, from having their density of development raised from the 1 home in 20 to 40 acres to much more because they will be sewered. More homes per acre mean more docks, more boats and more loss of wetlands and more habitat lost for manatees, wading birds, fishes and shell fishes, etc.

Goals

Stop the current House passed Pombo bill from coming up in the US Senate and being passed if it does come up by letter campaigning and lobbying the Senate.

Stop the FWCC from downlisting the manatee by letter writing to the FWCC Commissioners, the Governor who appoints them and letters to the editor to raise Public awareness of what is being attempted.

Also an on going letter writing campaign to save the coastal waters, rivers and sea grass beds for fisheries, shell fisheries, wading birds, manatees and animal and bird life dependant on this habitat. Without a safe habitat all will continue to decline.

Legislative

As local governments review their comp plans, try and make certain that they include a goal of saving habitats by not allowing any change in density in the flood zones because of being brought potable water and sewers. No increase in the density.

FWCC will hold a vote of the Commissioners to downlist the manatee to threatened or species of special concern and remove the protective speed zones.

The US Senate could take up the Pombo bill and remove the critical habitat designation for manatees from the waters they live in and also remove them from the list of marine mammals protected under the MMPA.

Additional Plans

Grab whatever opportunity presents itself. Try and raise a grassroots effort to really take stewardship of the flood plains, the waters and the wildlife and birdlife and fisheries that must live there. Will also be pointing out that density of development in floodplains can wipe a local government out if they must pay out to help the rebuild when FEMA runs out of money.

Achievements

Have put off the downlisting of the manatee for over a year and made it an extremely hot button issue. With the help of virtually every major environmental organization got the Senate to not move to take up any companion to the Pombo bill before they went home for Christmas. Have planners thinking along the lines of no increase in density with sewers. Working with a waterfront protection in Crystal River and Homosassa to convince local governments not to grant a single variance in the waterfront areas.

What can you do?

Write letters to the editor of their local newspapers asking for protection of waterfront (bays, lakes, rivers and coastal) areas by not allowing any increase in density of development because the local government have brought sewers to those areas to clean up pollution from septic tanks. If the pollution needs fixing, don’t sacrifice the habitat by allowing as many homes as one can fit on an acre because you took out a septic tank or two. Urge retrofitting of stormwater as a need too.

Tell your legislators that the manatee and their habitat beings tourists to Florida and abuse of the mammal or its habitat will repel the tourist.

Attend the portion of the FWCC commissioners meetings that are going to vote on the downlisting of manatees. Speak at comp plan amendment meetings to make certain that a change of density doesn’t follow the sewer lines. Keep an eye of your local PDRB to make certain they don’t bite the carrot of "I’ll help you sewer the area if you will geve me the density of homes I need for this development that will help pay for the sewer. Look into composting toilets for areas densely developed with trailers and small homes so the cost of sewer won’t force selling.

Visit your legislators office and talk to the legislator or a staff person and tell them how vital it is to protect Florida’s endangered species and Florida’s floodplains. The danger of hurricanes to local governments funding sources can wipe us all out. Encourage them to build state reserves and require local governments to build $ reserves to handle rebuilding of just what lies in the floodplain now, not adding density to the problem.