Contact policy makers and let them know how important manatees are to you. It doesn’t matter whether you live in Florida or outside the state. Click the blue boxes below to learn about Current Action Issues affecting manatees and Other Ways To Take Action. Join our Email Action Alert Team by entering your email in the “Stay Informed” box below, and we’ll send you notices of manatee issues and how you can help.
How You Can Help:
Florida Residents: Urge Governor DeSantis to VETO SB 410
If passed into law, SB 410 will undermine local comprehensive planning to protect rural lands in dozens of counties across Florida. This is important because these plans preserve natural lands from development that act as buffers for sensitive habitats, including springs and coastal environments that are important to manatees. Please take a few minutes to click the link above to get more information and send a quick letter to Governor DeSantis urging him to VETO SB 410.
Free the Ocklawaha
Save the Manatee Club is working with a coalition of advocates, partners, and businesses to develop an action plan to Free the Ocklawaha – united. FORCE’s mission is to restore the Ocklawaha as a free-flowing river, reconnecting the Silver and St. Johns Rivers, and elevating the regional benefits for all. This will provide habitat for manatees in Silver Springs and the uncovered Ocklawaha springs. Click the link above to learn more.
Update: Coalition Says Florida Forever Should Be Top Funding Priority
Florida Phoenix
Thirty conservation organizations were represented at the Florida Forever Days of Action events throughout the state. Save the Manatee Club’s Anne Harvey was a featured speaker.
Update: Citizens Fight the State’s Inadequate Plans to Restore 15 Outstanding Florida Springs
Florida Springs Council Press Release
Save the Manatee Club is one of several conservation organizations that filed legal challenges to the state’s ineffective water quality plans. Learn more.
Endangered Species Act Under Attack! Ask Congress To Protect Manatees And Other Imperiled Wildlife
Recently, President Trump’s Department of Interior released a regulations that will change the way actions are carried out under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These regulations will be detrimental to manatees and other imperiled wildlife. Please click the link above to send a quick message to your U.S. senators and representatives, letting them know you oppose any attempts to weaken the Endangered Species Act and its implementing regulations.
Update: FDEP Announces Approval of Mosquito Lagoon Reasonable Assurance Plan
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection recently announced the approval of the Mosquito Lagoon Reasonable Assurance Plan (RAP) and amendments to the Verified List of Impaired Waters. The Mosquito Lagoon RAP is the product of a locally driven stakeholder initiative that establishes the restoration activities and projects that will address nutrient impairments in Mosquito Lagoon. Save the Manatee Club staff were very involved in this process and worked to ensure meaningful criteria were adopted to halt impairment and facilitate restoration. See the plan here.
Florida’s Algal Blooms: What You Can Do
Save the Manatee Club has received many calls, comments and questions in regard to red tide and toxic algae blooms in Florida. We encourage you to share your stories and your photographs with your elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels, the news media, and your online network of contacts. Click the link above to get more information and find out what you can do.
Florida Residents: Help Manatees By Signing A Petition at Change.org to Restore the Ocklawaha River at Change.org
Restoration of the Ocklawaha River would provide much-needed winter habitat for manatees and would benefit other wildlife as well as Florida’s springs. It would reestablish traditional manatee access routes to the upper Ocklawaha River, its tributaries, and the St. Johns River, and several potential warm water refuges along the Ocklawaha River would become available. The restoration of the Ocklawaha River would also support the return of native plants and provide a more diverse supply of vegetation to serve as a food source for manatees. Florida Residents or Property Owners: Sign the petition at Change.org.
Urge Governor DeSantis To Lead The Way In Safeguarding Florida’s Aquatic Environment
Please send a quick online message asking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to lead the way in safeguarding Florida’s aquatic environment for manatees and other wildlife and for people, too.
Florida’s Land and Water Legacy
Florida voters approved Amendment 1, which will provide funding to help protect rivers, lakes, and springs without any increase in taxes. Save the Manatee Club is part of a coalition of individual volunteers and conservation organizations from across the state who worked to put The Water and Land Conservation Amendment on the ballot in Florida. The state continues to shortchange funding for despite overwhelming support from the public for the Amendment 1 constitutional amendment guaranteeing full funding for the program. Please reach out to your state senators and representatives to urge full funding next legislative session and for funds to acquire new lands. Click the following link to get more information on Florida’s Land and Water Legacy and how you can get involved.
Update: Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019
Thanks to your help, Congressman Vern Buchanan will be an original cosponsor on the Wildlife Corridors Bill, and his support will make the bill bipartisan! If passed, the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act will restore habitat and protect America’s native wildlife by establishing a National Wildlife Corridors Program that facilitates the designation of wildlife corridors on federal lands and provides grants to protect wildlife corridors on non-federal lands. Click the following link to get more information on the Act.
Sign the Petition to End Phosphate Mining in Florida!
The Florida we know and love is wild as can be — but there’s a toxic legacy that’s threatening to overtake our state, and we need your help to stop it. Florida is now the capital of U.S. phosphate mining, and it’s killing our air, water and wildlife. Please click the link above to sign this petition from our friends at the Center for Biological Diversity asking Governor DeSantis to end new phosphate mining now.
Sign The Now Or Neverglades Declaration
Support the 200-plus Everglades scientists who believe that increased storage, treatment and conveyance of water south of Lake Okeechobee is essential to stop the damaging discharges to the coastal estuaries; to restore the flow of clean, fresh water to Everglades National Park, Florida Bay and the Florida Keys; to improve the health of Lake Okeechobee; and to protect the drinking water for 8 million Floridians.
Help Scientists Monitor Florida Red Tide
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s (FWRI) Red Tide Offshore Monitoring Program needs resident volunteers from all of Florida’s coastal counties to collect water samples. Volunteers must be able to collect water samples at least once a month from piers, bridges, or docks alongshore or from locations at least 1 mile offshore. FWRI pays for sampling supplies and shipping costs. Timely sampling by volunteers allows researchers to provide an early warning of offshore algal blooms and investigate reported events as they occur. Email: RTOMP_coordinator@MyFWC.com for more information or use the link above for the Volunteer Signup Form.
Demand Clean Water For Wildlife & People
The Floridians’ Clean Water Declaration is a positive vision to inspire people to work together to create a new water ethic, find solutions to Florida’s water quality and quantity problems and send a clear message to our water managers that the people of Florida demand clean water.
Sign Up To Clean Up!
Debris in the waterway, such as discarded fishing line and hooks, plastic six-pack holders, and plastic bags, is dangerous to manatees and other wildlife. To help counteract this problem, Save the Manatee Club is partnering with Central Florida RECON and other organizations on several cleanups. We could use your help! Please click the link above to check out the scheduled cleanup events at our Facebook page and join us if you can spare a few hours.
Sign the Endangered Species Act Legacy Pledge!
You can help protect the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a safety net for our nation’s wildlife, fish and plants on the brink of extinction. For over 30 years, the ESA has provided critical protections for endangered species and the places where they live. Please sign the Endangered Species Act Legacy Pledge (SMC is a member of the Endangered Species Coalition) and show your support. When various threats arise to the Endangered Species Act in the form of legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate or negative administrative actions, the conservation community will be able to take the list of pledge supporters to Members of Congress and let them know that their constituents support strong protections for our nation’s endangered fish, plants and wildlife.
Join the Manatee Sighting Network
Have you seen a manatee in the wild lately? If you live along a river, estuary, canal or coastal area in Florida, you can help provide valuable information to researchers who are tracking manatees. When you spot a manatee, just fill out our simple one-page form.
Register To Vote!
Being an advocate means taking an active part in government. The best way you can do this is register to vote. You can do this online by going to the League of Women Voters or Rock the Vote web sites. It’s easy!
Write a Letter to Your Local Paper
Writing letters to your local newspaper is a very powerful and effective way to voice your position on manatee issues within your community. See a sample letter and get some helpful tips.
You Can Make A Difference: Become Involved and Help Improve the World!
As an individual, you have a voice in governmental processes. When you make your wants and needs known, you can improve the world! When you remain silent, you give your power away to others. No one is too young to get involved. Students can participate by researching issues at the local level. They can write letters, send email, and attend county commission or city council meetings. They can help their community make wise choices about environmental protection.
1. Find Out How State and Federal Government Works
You can find information about your state government. For example, the Florida State Government has a web site called Online Sunshine, which is a guide to the Florida Legislature. You can find out how an idea becomes a law, look up contact information for your legislator, and other interesting facts. You can also look up information about your state’s governor. Florida’s governor is Ron DeSantis, and you can click the following link to find contact information for Governor DeSantis.
You can get information about the federal government by visiting Scholastic’s How Government Works. You can also find your U.S. senators and your U.S. representative, get their contact information, and send them a message.
2. Write Letters or Send Emails to Elected Officials
If you would like to help manatees, you can write a letter or send an email to Florida’s governor to show strong support for manatee protection. Next, you can write your U.S. senator and representative. If you live in Florida, you can also write your state senator and representative! Tell these elected officials why you think it is important to protect manatees and their habitat and to keep other environmental laws strong. Be creative! You can draw pictures, write letters or poems, and send email.
Get Tips for Writing Letters to Decision Makers
In addition, there are always a number of issues affecting manatees and their habitat that involve local, state and federal governments. You can visit the Take Action page of the Save the Manatee Club website to find current information on these issues.
3. Write Letters or Send An Email to Your School or Local Paper
You can also help educate others by writing a letter to the editor and sending it to your school or community newspaper. Tell them about manatees, why you think it is important to protect them, and how people in your school or community can help.