News-press.com
June 14, 2007
Manatees may lose endangered
tag
By Jim Waymer
Manatees moved
closer Wednesday to losing their endangered status in
State wildlife officials, meeting in
Dozens of people
turned out at Wednesday's commission meeting at the Radisson Suite Hotel
Oceanfront to make their views known.
“I understand this is an emotional interest for a lot of people,” said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission. “The only way that this plan is going to work is that
we all get into the same boat and row together.”
Environmentalists warned that the biggest impact of the status change could be
the loss of existing go-slow manatee zones, which could lead to more manatee
deaths. Last year, more than 80 manatees died in watercraft-related incidents
among the 400 that died from all causes.
The Tallahassee-based sport fishing group Coastal Conservation Association,
which first petitioned the commission in 2001 to review the manatee's status,
supports the downlisting, noting that already more than 300,000 acres of state
water lie within slow-speed manatee zones.
In general, boating and fishing advocacy groups argue the change in status is
long overdue because statewide counts in recent years have found more than
3,000 manatees.
“The opposition to downlisting, while very loud, is also very small,” said John
Kendrick, a member of the board of directors of Citizens for
Pat Rose, executive director of Save the Manatee Club, an environmental group
based in Maitland, countered that manatees meet international criteria for
“endangered” species. Reducing their status here would make manatees
expendable, she said.
Today is the deadline for public comment on the manatee management plan before
the commission takes a final vote in September.
The plan also includes the use of better-marked, more effective go-slow zones
and improved methods for counting the sea cows, as manatees are known. It also
would focus on developing ways — within five years — to provide for enough
warm-water discharge areas to support manatees during winter months.
Warm-water discharge from power plants, such as the two along U.S. 1 in north
Brevard County, has altered normal migration for manatees, keeping them farther
north in the winter than they otherwise would be. Manatees that stray from the
power plants during cold snaps can die from stress.
The plan could also include working with water management districts to control
groundwater discharges to ensure a certain rate of flow at freshwater springs,
another source of warm water for sea cows during winter.
And power plants could be retrofitted to keep discharging the warm water, even
as they shift to burn more efficient fuels, such as natural gas.
Commissioners acknowledged the overall plan is not perfect, but said it could
be improved over time.
“Yeah, it's not the best plan,” said Barreto,
commission chairman. “We're going to have to tweak it.
“The manatee is a success story in