More Good News for Manatees!

More Good News for Manatees! July 02, 2008 12:33 PM



Governor Crist Vetoes Bills That Threatened Seagrass Protection and Weakened Important Growth Management Laws

Bolstered by your support, Florida Governor Charlie Crist courageously vetoed legislation (CS/HB 7059) recently that would have threatened protection for seagrasses, which are critically-important food sources for our endangered manatees.

The bill, which was passed by the House and Senate during the Florida Legislative Session, was originally intended to provide better protection for seagrass ecosystems in Florida. However, a last-minute amendment by those who favored coastal development altered the bill to allow seagrasses to be destroyed under the pretense of establishing unproven "seagrass mitigation banks" on state-owned lands. The reality was that this would have meant destruction of critical seagrass beds that provide food for manatees and rich nurseries and feeding grounds for fish and other wildlife for the purpose of furthering more coastal development in Florida.

Hearing from many thousands of citizens, Governor Crist also took a strong stand in vetoing Senate Bill 1706, which would have undermined important growth management protections.

What You Can Do:

Please take a moment to thank Governor Crist for his manatee and wildlife protection efforts. As you may recall, last year the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) was poised to downlist manatees from Endangered to Threatened. Responding to our urging, Governor Crist asked the FWC to reject the status change and urged the Commission to reevaluate its whole listing process. In addition to his recent vetoes of CS/HB 7059, the bad seagrass bill, and SB 1706, the bad growth management bill, Governor Crist also recently signed SB 1286, which will help fund critically-needed manatee rescue and rehabilitation programs.