Florida Postpones Decision on Downlisting Manatees

Governor responds to public's call to ensure protection of species

After the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently voted to downlist the Florida manatee from "endangered" to "threatened" status at the state level, IDA sent our members in Florida an Action Alert asking them to urge Governor Charlie Crist to oppose the plan. He subsequently sent a letter to the FWC expressing concern for the manatees, and the next day the commission announced they would postpone their decision. This means that manatees will remain in the endangered threat category for the time being. Thank you to everyone who responded to our alert, and also to those who attended the FWC meeting on September 12th: you really made a difference for the manatees.

As a member of the Save the Manatees Club, IDA has joined with other animal protection and conservation organizations to oppose the FWC's plan for downlisting the manatee because reclassification would aggravate the principal threats to manatee survival at a very unstable period. These threats include:

  • Boating Deaths: The legal basis for boat speed restrictions, already unevenly enforced, would be weakened by downlisting, despite the fact that speedboat collisions and propeller maiming are already the primary cause of manatee deaths.
  • Water Pollution: A new ongoing outbreak of red tide may have already claimed the lives of scores of manatees in Southwest Florida where researchers agree the sub-population is declining. This new threat source, along with algal blooms, will be aggravated by the growth in the region's human population.
  • Habitat Loss: The destruction of the manatees' aquatic habitat to make way for new coastal development is already proceeding at a breakneck speed, and will only accelerate if protections are weakened.

In addition, the manatee population could experience large die-offs as aging power plants go off-line. Power plant outfalls that serve as warm water refuges would no longer be available, leading to the possible loss of hundreds of wintering manatees to cold stress syndrome. Moreover, many of the Florida springs that manatees depend upon are declining in flow. Removal of the manatee's endangered status would likely undermine efforts to find alternative warm water sources.

At a time when Florida is facing unparalleled development pressures, it is heartening that the state's governor is concerned about protecting this species as "one of (the) state's most beloved natural resources."

What You Can Do:

  1. Please Take Action to thank Governor Crist for speaking out for manatees. You can also thank the Governor by phone, fax, webmail, or postal mail.

    Governor Charlie Crist
    PL-05 The Capitol
    Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
    Tel: (850) 488-7146
    Fax: (850) 487-0801
    Email:

  2. Also Take Action to urge the FWC not to downlist the manatee, and to oppose cutbacks in on-water law enforcement officers and funding for the rescue of injured manatees. Then follow up with a polite letter, phone call, fax or email.

    Chairman Rodney Barreto
    Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
    620 South Meridian Street
    Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
    Tel: (850) 487-3796 Fax: (850) 921-5786
    Email:

  3. As we reported in April, the Florida manatee is in danger of losing its protections as a federal endangered species. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) still wants to downlist the manatee from its present "endangered" status to "threatened" under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Please urge this federal agency not to downlist the Florida manatee with a polite letter, phone call, or webmail.

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
    1849 C Street, NW
    Washington, DC 20240
    Tel: (800) 344-9453
    Email webform: http://www.fws.gov/duspit/contactus.htm