Ask Governor Bush to Veto Anti-Manatee Legislation!
What You Can Do:
Both Florida and Non-Florida Residents: You can help. Last week, the Anti-Manatee Legislation, SB 540 and HB 633, were passed by the Florida Senate and House of Representatives. We know the senators and representatives heard from thousands of people, so we appreciate your help! With your help, the bills were made a little better but remain harmful to manatees.
Using both deceptive and malicious strong-arm tactics, the leaders of both the Florida Senate and the House forced numerous legislators to go against their conscience and support changes to the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act that will both make it more difficult to recover manatees from endangered status and will mean more manatees will be injured or killed. In fact, the proposed legislation would not have even made it out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee if the Senate President had not held several committee members' bills hostage to force them to support this bad legislation. We also know that house members' bills were held hostage in a similar way from pressure exerted by the Speaker Pro Tempore, who was also the House sponsor.
What This Legislation Will Do:
Hidden within this Trojan horse of supposed studies to help manatees are new limitations on the state's authority to adopt new speed zones to protect manatees and language promoting recreational boating. These new limitations take effect even before manatees are recovered from endangered status and new language is inserted into the Manatee Sanctuary Act declaring that the "mission" of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) is to both maximize manatee protection and maximize recreational boating in Florida waterways.
While the sponsors and Marine Manufacturers may pass this off as a mere statement of philosophy, it will be used by disgruntled boaters to challenge manatee protections anywhere they exist on the basis that any manatee protection at all means their recreational boating opportunities are not "increased to the highest possible" -- which is Webster's definition of maximize.
To add insult to injury, the funding for the studies that were supposed to help manatees was stricken from the bill before its final passage -- leaving only more restrictions on the FWCC's authority to protect manatees.
Despite numerous editorials against this legislation from papers across Florida, criticisms from many long-time manatee and wildlife experts, and objections from most of Florida's environmental and public interest organizations, the legislature approved these changes to the Manatee Sanctuary Act that were brought forward by representatives of the Marine Manufacturers and the go-fast boating groups. Even so, it may not be too late to stop these harmful changes from taking effect.
List of Organizations Who Oppose the Bills
More Detailed Information About S.B. 540
What You Can Do:
Please write to Governor Bush and ASK HIM TO VETO SB 540 (which is now the number of the combined bills). Demand that he investigate the strong-arm tactics used to turn the Manatee Sanctuary Act into a Boating Promotion Act that will make it much harder to recover manatees from their endangered status. Tell him you are counting on him to stop this hypocritical attack on manatees that will likely force the federal government to intercede if it becomes law. Tell him this is the state's chance to show the federal government they are serious about recovering manatees from endangered status.
In addition, please forward this web page to everyone you know (see E-mail This Page below) and ask them to contact Governor Bush and ask him to veto SB 540 as it is harmful to manatees and their prospects for recovery.
Contact Information:
Governor Jeb Bush
PL 05 The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Phone: 850-488-4441
Fax: 850- 487-0801
E-mail: jeb.bush@myflorida.com
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