For Immediate Release: January 24, 2003

Save the Manatee Club, Defenders of Wildlife, The Humane Society of the United States, the Sierra Club and a coalition of more than a dozen other groups today applauded an agreement made with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that, if implemented in good faith, will provide much-needed protection for endangered manatees in three areas of Florida where manatees have been killed and injured in high numbers. The agreement may also be an important step in the permitting of some new dock slips in southwest Florida.

The agreement, which was filed in federal district court in Washington, is the most recent development stemming from a January 2001 legal settlement between the coalition and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Representatives from the National Marine Manufacturer’s Association, the Marina Operators Association of America, the Association of Florida Community Developers and the Marine Industries Association of Florida participated in negotiations with the plaintiffs and the government agencies (defendants) in this case and also signed off on the 2001 negotiated settlement.

The 2001 settlement agreement committed the USFWS to a schedule for the designation of new manatee refuges and sanctuaries throughout peninsular Florida. In this most recent agreement, the USFWS agreed that certain areas of the state, such as the Caloosahatchee River in southwest Florida and the St. Johns River in northeast Florida, should have increased manatee protection and therefore they will proceed with rulemaking on an expedited schedule.

A proposed rule will be available in February 2003 with a final rule published in July 2003. The proposed areas for protection are in the Caloosahatchee River in Lee County, the St. Johns River in Duval and Clay Counties, and the Halifax and Tomoka Rivers in Volusia County.

“As a result of this agreement, manatees should finally get some of the protection they need in these areas,” said Patti Thompson, Director of Science and Conservation for Save the Manatee Club. "In particular, for the Caloosahatchee River in Lee County, this is a very important step. Our message has always been simple: effective manatee protection measures need to be in place before new docks, and the subsequent boat traffic associated with them, are authorized. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking some of the necessary steps so manatees will be protected once new boat docks are permitted in these areas.”

Since 1974, 48 percent of Lee County’s watercraft-related manatee deaths have been documented in the Caloosahatchee River system, and 75 percent of the Caloosahatchee River deaths have occurred since 1990. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWCC) November 2002 study of the Caloosahatchee River also revealed that for the past 13 years boating-related manatee deaths have been increasing faster in that river system than anywhere else in Florida.

The FWCC’s Florida Marine Research Institute recently confirmed that 305 manatees died in state waters in 2002. Watercraft-related manatee mortality reached an all-time record high of 95 deaths or 31% of the total mortalities. "The tragic increase in boat-related manatee deaths underscores the urgent need for better manatee protection in areas identified as having high manatee use, high manatee mortality, high boating activity, and inadequate manatee protection regulations," said Thompson. "We are pleased the Service has chosen to go forward with rulemaking in these areas."

“When these proposed protections are adopted in final form, enforcement is increased, and a good Manatee Protection Plan is approved in Lee County, then we believe the groundwork will have been laid for some permits to move in areas where manatees were previously not being protected. Therefore, affected developers and homeowners, as well as manatee advocates, should strongly support these protections,” added Thompson.

To see a copy of the order in PDF format, go to: http://northflorida.fws.gov/Manatee/manatees.htm (see Service and Plaintiffs Stipulated Order files Jan. 24, 2003 under the heading "Federal Lawsuit.Settlement")

More information on the Manatee Protection Lawsuits