{"id":329538,"date":"2025-12-04T07:10:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T07:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/329538\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T07:10:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T07:10:36","slug":"proposed-changes-to-endangered-species-act-threaten-manatees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/329538\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed changes to Endangered Species Act threaten manatees"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the wild, Florida\u2019s manatees already face threats<\/a> from cold stress, habitat loss, boat strikes and other human activities.<\/p>\n

Now advocates worry about the potential peril that manatees may encounter from the Trump administration\u2019s proposed changes to federal implementation of the Endangered Species Act<\/a>. Environmentalists say the proposed rollbacks could threaten the lives of sea cows through further habitat degradation, pollution and the adverse effects of development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent 50-some years trying to get [manatees] to a place where they\u2019re going to be around and they\u2019re going to be a part of a healthy, sustainable ecosystem,\u201d said Pat Rose<\/a>, executive director of Save the Manatee Club<\/a>. \u201cIf these changes occur, it\u2019s going to be a huge battle going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration says the modifications \u2014 which would change how agencies manage species and habitat under the act, not the act itself \u2014\u00a0are aimed at curbing \u201cregulatory overreach.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the proposed revisions includes rescinding the \u201cblanket rule\u201d that affords animals and plants listed as threatened, such as the Florida manatee, the same strict protections automatically given to the more critically at-risk animals and plants\u00a0on the Endangered Species List. Instead, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a> would be tasked with making species-specific rules, a process that could be time and labor-intensive.<\/p>\n

Another change will allow \u201cconsideration of economic impacts\u201d when deciding whether to include an area as protected \u2018critical habitat\u2019 for a species, allowing for cost-benefit studies rather than solely focusing on science.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, FWS also proposed a rule change that would revise the definition of \u201charm\u201d under the Endangered Species Act, in effect allowing modification or degradation of endangered species\u2019 habitats that have historically been protected under the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you deregulate or when you chip away at the framework of this bedrock conservation law by undermining it piece by piece, trying to pull out critical pieces that make it successful, it puts species and their habitats back at risk,\u201d said Katherine Sayler<\/a>, southeast representative with Defenders of Wildlife.<\/p>\n

\"AA Florida manatee comes up for a breath near Hunter Spring during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Florida manatees were first protected by Florida state law in 1893<\/a>, but federal legislation \u2014 the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 \u2014 established the bedrock conservation laws that protect manatees to this day, which also includes protection of their habitat.<\/p>\n

The Endangered Species Act has prevented the extinction of roughly 291 species since 1973 and has saved more than 99% of listed species<\/a> under its protection, according to a 2019 study<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These safeguards helped Florida manatees to rebound from an estimated 1,267 manatees in 1991<\/a> to an estimated 8,350 to 11,730 manatees in the state based on 2021-2022 surveys<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AA Florida manatee swims through the clear water of Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Though the gentle giants have recovered substantially in recent decades, the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife says<\/a> the proposed changes could diminish the gains of the Florida manatee and push them further towards endangered status.<\/p>\n

From December 2020 to April 2022, manatees in the Indian River Lagoon experienced an \u201cUnusual Mortality Event<\/a>\u201d (UME) due to a lack of forage. An overabundance of phosphorus and nitrogen in the estuary \u2014 the result of leaking septic tanks, wastewater spills, stormwater runoff and over-fertilization of lawns \u2014 caused algae blooms that choked out the natural seagrass that manatees rely upon to survive. The UME was tied to the death of more than 1,200 manatees.<\/p>\n

\"AA Florida manatee and calf float in Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

To date in 2025, the\u00a0Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission<\/a> has counted nearly 600 manatee deaths<\/a>, including 91 caused by watercraft and 130 perinatal deaths of manatee calves less than 5 feet in length.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fear among manatee advocates is that rolling back habitat protections could exacerbate the habitat loss that has dramatically accelerated in recent years. <\/p>\n

Another proposed change would introduce a two-step process for designating critical habitat that favors currently occupied areas while creating a higher standard for designating unoccupied but potentially significant habitat. Yet another would weaken the requirements for interagency cooperation and consultations, opening the door for federal agencies to approve resource extraction and development projects without assessing future impact to threatened and endangered species or their habitats, according to Defenders of Wildlife<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cProjects may go forward without the level of attention to, \u2018What are the effects on species\u2019 habitats going to be?\u2019 What you don\u2019t measure, you can\u2019t mitigate,\u201d said Jane Davenport<\/a>, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. \u201cIt\u2019s just putting the blinders on to one of the five major drivers of extinction, which is habitat loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA Florida manatee swims through the clear water of Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of the Interior<\/a> said the changes are aimed at advancing \u201cAmerican energy independence\u201d and improving \u201cregulatory predictability,\u201d according to a\u00a0news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese revisions end years of legal confusion and regulatory overreach, delivering certainty to states, tribes, landowners and businesses while ensuring conservation efforts remain grounded in sound science and common sense,\u201d said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in the release.<\/p>\n

\"AA Florida manatee rests in Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Critics argue that the changes will favor industry interests and profit over actual species conservation goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is, \u2018Who benefits?\u2019 Certainly not the species,\u201d Davenport said. \u201cThat deregulatory agenda certainly favors the few over the many.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sayler said that manatees can help indicate what\u2019s happening with Florida\u2019s broader environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re an umbrella species and a sentinel species. When manatees are doing well, so many other marine species benefit,\u201d she said. \u201cThey also tell us when things are not quite right with an estuary, a watershed or a system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA Florida manatee rests in Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also more than sea cows at stake. When manatees benefit, so do economic, fishing and tourism interests. When the ecosystem suffers, so can humans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in Washington some have lost sight of the fact that we\u2019re dependent on a healthy ecosystem,\u201d said Elizabeth Fleming<\/a>, senior Florida representative with Defenders of Wildlife. \u201cWe can\u2019t thrive if we\u2019re breathing polluted air, eating polluted food and drinking polluted water.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TheseThese four proposals have to do with changes to the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. They are open for public comment on the Federal Register. (Federal Register)<\/p>\n

A public comment period<\/a> is currently open through Dec. 22 for the public to weigh in on the proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act. Comments can be made by visiting federalregister.gov\/agencies\/fish-and-wildlife-service<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Find me @PConnPie on Instagram<\/a> or send me an email: pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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