 VOTE BOOSTS MEASURES TO PROTECT MANATEES Miami Herald -- Friday, April 20, 2001 By: Phil Long, Herald Staff Writer ORLANDO -- Florida's environmental poster child, the West Indian manatee, got a boost from the state of Florida Thursday. By a 5-1 vote, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission agreed to a broad-ranging settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Save the Manatee Club and other groups angry because they believe the state isn't doing enough to protect the mammals from boat collisions. Commissioner Quinton Hedgepeth voted against the measure, saying the state was not guilty of doing too little for manatees and that the settlement would open the door to other lawsuits. The next step will happen in perhaps a dozen counties where the state will propose new rules to protect manatees from humans. "Manatees are being killed at a record rate, and we need to move along quickly," Helen Spivey, co-chair of the Save the Manatee Club, said in support of a settlement that would begin the process of creating new speed zones and safe havens and assigning more law enforcement resources to protect manatees. MANATEE MORTALITY Last year, 78 of the 273 manatees that died in Florida were killed by collisions with boats. In 1999 the number was 82, and so far this year, 30 have died after being hit by boats. Though no one knows the exact size of the manatee herd in Florida waters, researchers aboard aircraft counted 3,220 animals in February, the most ever seen from the air. "We don't believe this an immediate crisis," Ted Forsgren, executive director of Coastal Conservation Association-Florida, a mostly saltwater anglers' group, told the commission in a day-long hearing. Forsgren and other anglers and boaters are not generally opposed to the major goals of the settlement, but they said they are disturbed that they had so little input in the settlement and are concerned about the many details yet to be worked out. Forsgren and others insist that the state set a goal for the results it wants to reach for manatees, then relax restrictions when that goal is met. SETTING GOAL In a separate agreement, commissioners voted to develop such a goal, but it will not be based solely on increasing the size of the herd. It will include other factors such as the amount of habitat available for manatees, said Joy Hill, a commission spokeswoman. Toby Dolan, an attorney for EarthJustice Legal Defense Fund told commissioners that Florida is at a "historic moment right now to protect manatees and allow boaters and fishermen to enjoy Florida's waterways. They are not incompatible." The Miami-Dade sanctuaries where "Slow'" or "No Wake Zone" signs will go up are Blue Lagoon and Sky Lakes near the Miami International Airport. Similar sanctuaries are slated for Palm Beach, Martin, Indian River, Volusia, Hillsborough, Manatee and Charlotte counties. The "safe haven" proposals must be completed by the commission staff by November of this year. Copyright (c) 2001, The Miami Herald |