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Save the Manatee!
Florida Likely To Downlist Manatees
Your Help Is Needed!
The Issue:
For all wildlife advocates, April 14 is a day we should never forget! The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) moved one step closer to downlisting manatees from endangered status while thumbing their noses at science. At a meeting in Tallahassee, they voted unanimously to adopt amendments to a bad state rule that sets standards for listing and delisting imperiled species. This shameful action with little regard for the welfare of the state's wildlife could lead to numerous native species being downlisted or delisted before their populations have been recovered.
The FWCC will now move forward with the manatee's status review, paving the way for the species' downlisting, regardless of how they are actually faring in the wild. Once manatees are downlisted, protective regulations such as boat speed zones could be rolled back and the public will incorrectly think that manatees are doing better than they actually are.
What You Can Do:
Please support manatees and all of Florida's imperiled species by endorsing the following position letter. By adding your information below, you will be sending the following letter to Florida Governor Jeb Bush. NOTE: All fields marked with * are required for your e-mail to be valid.
Dear Governor Bush and Mr. Haddad:
On April 14, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) voted unanimously to adopt amendments to a bad state rule that sets the standards for listing and delisting Florida's imperiled species, despite overwhelming objections from the environmental community and numerous eminent scientists who gave testimony at the meeting.
As you know, in 1999, the state adopted new rule language on how to classify Florida's imperiled species based on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) standards for listing species on a global scale. In 2003, because of mounting opposition from numerous groups, the FWCC asked a panel to review the highly controversial rule language. The major flaw in wording was not corrected and the Florida categories of imperilment remained mismatched with the IUCN categories making IUCN's "endangered" equal to FWCC's "threatened." Because of this action, many Florida native species could be downlisted or even delisted in future, including all sea turtle species, black bears, and right whales.
The FWCC also instructed their staff to move forward with the review of the manatee's biological status. Using this flawed rule, manatees will be reclassified as threatened or even as a species of special concern, regardless of how they are actually faring in the wild.
Of the four sub-populations of manatees, one sub-population (Southwest Florida) is probably already declining. The East Coast sub-population is too close to call - they may be stable or slightly declining or slightly increasing. These two sub-populations make up about 84% of the entire manatee population. The other two sub-populations (Crystal River and Blue Spring) that make up about 16% of the population are increasing, but this is mostly because these two areas have been protected for decades.
The outcome of the FWCC's April 14 action will spell disaster for manatees! Please urge the FWCC to TAKE NO ACTION on species' reclassifications - including the manatee - until a peer review of the listing process is done using expert, qualified scientists from a broad spectrum of the scientific community.
You've said before that manatees are your favorite mammals. I am depending on you to make sure manatees are not downlisted before the science supports such a dangerous move.
Sincerely,
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