Protecting Florida’s Manatees
If you want to see manatees while in Florida, one place to go in the wintertime is the Crystal River area, as well as nearby Homosassa State Park.
So, it is apt that Crystal River is the place where a public meeting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was held to talk about protecting the endangered manatees. Much of the states’ human-manatee interaction takes place in and around Crystal River. As the manatee population grows, so does the number of people who want to experience swimming with the big mammals.
The meeting was held to help Federal officials draft a 15-year comprehensive conservation plan for the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. Many people came to the meeting to point out that stricter rules are needed to help protect the manatee population. Some cited the widely circulated videos showing people deliberately harming the animals. Many agree that the number of people in the water should be limited and touching manatees should be outlawed.
Then, there are those who think that the manatee encounters that encourage the petting of the animals serves to create new manatee fans who will in turn stand up to champion manatee safety.
And there is the issue of rental boats in the water. Boating accidents still account for most of the manatee deaths locally.
Fish and Wildlife officials will continue to seek public comment for the next 30 days. Then they will start to draft a management plan. The final plan should be implemented by late 2010.
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