For Immediate Release: June 24, 2003

In a show of overwhelming support for additional manatee protection zones, over 4,500 citizens from across Florida and the United States sent comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in support of new proposed federal manatee protection areas.

"This is a loud, clear message to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that along with the compelling scientific data supporting the adoption of these new protection areas, there is overwhelming public support for them," said Judith Vallee, Save the Manatee Club's Executive Director.

There were 5,688 total comments received by the Service during the comment period from April 5, 2003 through June 3, 2003. There were more than four times as many people who wrote in support of the proposed protection areas than who wrote in opposition to them (4,532 in favor; 1,006 opposed).

The areas of proposed protection include the Caloosahatchee River, widely recognized as the deadliest waterway for manatees in Florida; the Tomoka River, an area of high manatee use; the Halifax River, a waterway with high manatee mortality; and the St. Johns River, an area lacking in key manatee protections.

"The Service has based this proposal on the best available science and the public overwhelmingly supports the implementation of this rule," stated Susannah Lindberg, Executive Director for the Wildlife Advocacy Project. "Any retreat would only demonstrate a capitulation to political pressures from special interest groups."

In the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2003, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that:

"The areas in this notice represent those areas that the Service has determined, based on the current, best available data, should be considered for designation as manatee refuges."

The USFWS will announce the final rule in July. Manatee advocates hope that the interests of the public will be reflected in the implementation of the proposed protection areas unchanged.

"This should be the easiest decision for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make," said Mark Ferrulo, Director for the Florida Public Interest Research Group. "Science and public support make the decision to finalize this proposed rule a no-brainer."