Agencies Approve Greater Threats to Manatees in Lee County, Florida: Your Help is Needed!

The Issue:

Instead of following their legal mandates to help recover the endangered Florida manatee, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have approved a manatee protection plan (MPP) for Lee County that makes the waterways more dangerous for manatees! Their approvals are in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and Florida Statutes. Save the Manatee Club has urged these agencies for years to require Lee County to develop a manatee-friendly manatee protection plan, not the menacing one they approved. We are taking these new threats very seriously but the FWCC, however, has just denied our recent request for an administrative hearing on this weak and inadequate MPP. Now, we need to take further action to protect manatees in Lee County.

An MPP is supposed to help protect and recover the endangered Florida manatee. An important part of the MPP is the boat facility siting plan, which guides the development and expansion of marinas and boat ramps. The Lee MPP allows for unrestricted and high-density boat facility development in some of the deadliest waterways for manatees in Florida. Lee County already has the fourth highest number of registered vessels (over 48,000, or about one boat for every 11 residents) and is expected to rise even higher in the county registered boat rankings. In addition to this ill-conceived scheme, the Lee MPP doesn’t even consider the need for new protection measures such as speed zones to offset the growing threats to manatees.


To further highlight the absurdity of the Lee MPP, consider the following:

  • The FWCC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) separate manatee population studies show that the manatee population in southwest Florida (where Lee County is located) is declining.

  • Lee County has led all counties in boat-related manatee deaths during the last 10-year period and is the second deadliest county since record keeping began in 1974.

  • Lee County leads the state in boat-related manatee deaths in 2004 and accounts for 20 percent of the deaths statewide.

  • Lee County’s major river, the Caloosahatchee River, is the deadliest waterway for manatees and other waterways in Lee County are showing heightened numbers of boat-related manatee deaths.

  • Lee County is one of the fastest developing areas in the country, with much more waterfront development and many more boaters expected.

What You Can Do:

Both Florida and Non-Florida Residents:

Please write to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and urge them to rescind their approval because it violates the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Please send a copy of your letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, which uses the USFWS recommendations when permitting boat facilities.

Also, please write to Governor Bush and let him know that it is unacceptable for the FWCC to approve a Lee County MPP that is in violation of Florida Statutes. Manatee Protection Plans for other counties are being developed, so please emphasize to him that manatees should be protected and not threatened by MPPs, regardless of the county.


Mr. Sam Hamilton
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1875 Century Blvd.
Atlanta, Georgia 30345
E-mail: sam_hamilton@fws.gov

Mr. John Hall
Chief, Regulatory Division
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
P.O. Box 4970
Jacksonville, Florida 32232
E-mail: john.hall@sajo2.usace.army.mil

Governor Jeb Bush
PL 05 The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
E-mail: jeb@jeb.org


Thanks for your help!






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