Tell the Feds: Keep Protections Strong for Manatees
Ignoring ongoing threats, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to downlist Florida manatees from "endangered" to "threatened." Although manatees have returned from the brink of extinction, they continue to be cut down by boats and killed by red tide and other pathogens -- and are also facing critical habitat degradation. It's too soon to reduce protections for these endangered animals.
In making its premature proposal, the Service used a computer model based on incomplete data that failed to take into account recent massive manatee die-offs. And the Service has no plan for reducing boat collisions or addressing habitat loss. Manatees' natural warm-water refuges are diminishing, and the man-made warm-water refuges on which the majority of manatees have come to rely are facing imminent closure.
Take action today! Add your name and let the Service know that manatees still need our help.
Subject: Keep Manatees on the Endangered List
I oppose the Service's unwarranted proposal to downlist Florida manatees to "threatened." The agency itself has found that population trends are declining or unknown in 84 percent of the counties where manatees are found, and there are no plans for reducing mortality or preserving vital warm-water habitat.
[Your comment will be added here]
The Service's decision to downlist was largely based on a computer model that did not include data on recent massive die-offs of hundreds of manatees from red tide, cold weather and an unusual mortality event. From 2010-2015, 3,217 manatees died in Florida waters. The Service needs to consider how breeding and survival rates have been affected by these events.
Recovery benchmarks have not been met yet -- and downlisting will open the door for conflicting interests to dismantle protections for manatees, jeopardizing the progress that has been made to bring them back from the brink of extinction. It's too soon to put manatees back at risk.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
