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Vote Keeps Manatees' Status

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By MIKE SALINERO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 5, 2007

KEY LARGO - Manatees will continue to get the highest level of protection that Florida affords an imperiled species, thanks in part to Gov. Charlie Crist and thousands of letters and e-mails he received from manatee lovers.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted unanimously today to defer changing the manatee's classification from "endangered" to the less-protective "threatened." In doing so the commission ignored a recommendation from the agency's scientists, a recommendation the commission had previously approved in June 2006.

The change of heart came after the governor made it clear in statements this week that he did not favor downgrading the manatee's status. The commission had been set to act on the staff's recommendation in September, but held off at the request of the governor.

"When the commission gets a request from the governor to look at something in more detail, that's what they're going to do," said Ted Forsgren, executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association, a boating group.

It was a petition from Forsgren's group that got the wildlife agency to reexamine the manatee's endangered species status.

The governor's office has received 16,000 pieces of mail regarding the issue since August, according to the Associated Press. The overwhelming majority opposed dropping manatees from the endangered list.

Commissioner Kenneth Wright made the motion to defer the reclassification, saying he was concerned from a public policy standpoint and that he had questions about the science used to support changing the manatee's status.

The commission directed its staff to come back with ideas on how to change the rules that dictate how species are listed to deflect the controversy that has swirled around the manatee's status.

"That's what the problem is," said Pat Rose, director of the Save the Manatee Club. "The problem is not the science that's being done and it's not the management plan. The problem is that the rule is broken in our opinion."

Ken Haddad, the agency's executive director, said he would bring some new ideas about listing imperiled species to the board's February meeting.

Boating groups and marine contractors have pushed to have the manatee's classification changed, saying the animal's numbers have more than doubled in the past 25 years. Conservation groups say that the animals still face potential extinction, especially as Florida's population grows, destroying manatee habitat and putting more boats in the water.

Last year, 416 manatees died, the highest mortality rate since the state started counting in 1974. Of those deaths, 92 were caused by collisions with watercraft, 12 more than were killed by boats the previous year.

This year, 277 manatees had died by Oct. 31, 66 from watercraft collisions.

State researchers counted 2,812 manatees in Florida waters early this year, about 300 fewer animals compared with the 2006 count. Wildlife researchers always caution the counts, which primarily are done from low-flying planes, shouldn't be compared year to year.

Researchers at all of the agencies see watercraft as the biggest danger to manatee recovery, followed by loss of warm-water sites at power plants. An estimated two-thirds of Florida manatees winter near power plants. Scientists say if the plants close, or they change their power-producing technology, many manatees will not know to seek another source of warm water and will die.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com.

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