Florida Newspapers Weigh In

On April 14, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission voted to adopt amendments to state rule criteria that govern the listing and delisting of Florida’s imperiled species. Save the Manatee Club believes the amendments only slightly improved the rule criteria, which will cause many of Florida’s imperiled species to be in even greater danger of extinction. The Club strongly objects to the failure of the state agency to adopt substantive changes that would consider individual species’ life histories rather than a "one-size-fits-all" approach, which we feel will lead to numerous species being downlisted or delisted before they are recovered.

Several Florida papers have written editorials supporting SMC's position:

New Trophy: The Manatee
Palm Beach Post

"Endangered" Redefined
Miami Herald
Note: You will need to complete a free registration
at the Herald web site to view the editorial

Foolish Species Changes
Bradenton Herald (scroll to bottom of page)

Manatees at Risk: Wildlife Commission Ignores
Reality in Changing Animal's Protection Rules
Florida Today

Manatee Safety Off to a Bad Start
Lakeland Ledger

Serving (Up) Florida's Manatees
Palm Beach Post

If you are as concerned as we are about the FWCC's inadequate listing criteria and the USFWS's upcoming review of the manatee's status, please take a few minutes and write a letter to the editor to your local paper!  Click here for more information.

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