Feds Pitch Downgraded Manatee Protection

SARASOTA, FL — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made the decision to pursue downgraded protections offered to Florida manatees under the Endangered Species Act.

That word came from U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s office hours ahead of a planned news conference scheduled by the federal wildlife service. The Republican representative was notified of the agency’s decision Wednesday, Buchanan’s press secretary Gretchen Andersen told Patch.

The federal agency’s decision will remove Florida manatee’s from the endangered species list. They will be reclassified as “threatened.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife confirmed the proposed downgrading during a press conference Thursday afternoon. The proposal will be published in the Federal Register on Friday. That publication will kick off a 90-day period during which the public can submit information to assist the agency before it makes its final decision, Fox News reported.

The decision to change the status comes on the heels of pressure from the boating industry and developers who say the state’s low-speed boating zones and other protection measures are too stringent. The Pacific Legal Fund also sued federal officials last year after filing a petition in 2012 to have the status for Florida manatees changed.

While the estimated manatee population has grown in recent years, Buchanan and conservationists contend the state’s population of 6,000 manatees does not represent a high enough number to loosen restrictions.

“But at only 6,000, it defies common sense to view these animals as unworthy of protection,” Buchanan wrote in a Jan. 7 letter to Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Buchanan’s letter implores Ashe to rethink the decision.

“This is not the time for the federal government to reduce its protections for manatees and their habitats,” Buchanan wrote. “In its 2007 status review, a government biologist projected a 50 percent probability that the current population of manatees in Florida could drop to 500 within the next century.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service defines an endangered species as any species that is in danger of extinction. A threatened species is one that is likely to become endangered.

The reclassification to threatened status would still leave a number of protections in place for manatees, but it could also ultimately lead to an easing of boating restrictions meant to protect the creatures.

Buchanan’s full letter to Ashe is available to read online.

What do you think about the reclassification? Share your thoughts by commenting below.

Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission