The Issue:
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) recently reinstated boat speed zones for manatee protection in Lee County, Florida, after the former zones were successfully challenged in court by disgruntled boaters. In an attempt to appease boaters' rights groups, the FWCC also directed their staff to request that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service remove portions of its Lee County refuges (similar to state speed zones). The USFWS refuges were implemented as a result of the boater's challenge to FWCC zones.
If federal manatee protection is removed, disgruntled boaters will challenge the new FWCC zones in court. This means manatees could be unprotected if federal protection, which is currently in place, is withdrawn.
What You Can Do:
Please help manatees by endorsing the following position letter. By adding your information below, you will be sending the letter to Sam Hamilton, Southeast Regional Director for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, asking the Service not to withdraw or weaken its Lee County boat speed zones. NOTE: All fields marked with * are required for your e-mail to be valid. As always, thank you for your support!
Dear Mr. Hamilton:
I appreciate that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopted permanent refuges in Lee County to replace the emergency zones that were in place there. I am asking the Service NOT to withdraw or weaken these permanent refuges.
As you know, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission recently adopted permanent manatee protection zones in Lee County, which for over a decade has been the deadliest county in Florida for manatee mortalities from boat collisions. So far in 2005, Lee County again leads the state in the number of manatees killed by boats. Further, the FWCC has determined that the southwest Florida manatee sub-population is almost certainly declining.
I am concerned because the commission unanimously adopted unacceptably weak manatee protection in some areas of Lee County, such as San Carlos Bay, the Caloosahatchee River, Hendry Creek, and Hell Peckney Bay. Their rule doesn't even address areas that have been in need of additional protection for years: portions of San Carlos Bay, Estero Bay, and the Bokeelia area. Less protection in Lee County, especially in the face of an exploding human population and increasing pressures on manatees and their habitat, is simply unacceptable.
If federal manatee protection is removed, disgruntled boaters will challenge the new FWCC zones in court. This means manatees could be unprotected if federal protection, which is currently in place, is withdrawn.
I am counting on you to ensure that adequate protection measures are in place to protect the declining southwest Florida manatee sub-population as the FWCC has shown by its actions they are not willing to do so.
Sincerely,
*First name:
*Last name:
*Street address:
*City:
*State:
* Zip:
*Country:
*Email address:
Let your friends know about the threats
to manatee protection. Please type in your friends' e-mail addresses below and we will
forward this action alert to them on your behalf. Together, we can save the manatee for
future generations.
