News

By Dr. Beth Brady, Director of Science and Conservation

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a proposed rule to revise the designated critical habitat for the Florida manatee. This revision has been nearly 15 years in the making, following efforts by Save the Manatee Club (SMC) and other environmental groups, which urged the agency to update the original 1977 critical habitat map. Critical habitat is defined in the Endangered Species Act as an area that contains habitat features, physical and biological, that are essential for the survival and recovery of a listed species and which may require special management considerations or protections. The proposal from FWS expands the critical habitat for the Florida manatee to 1.9 million acres. While this is a significant step forward, additional efforts are still needed to ensure comprehensive protection. During the rule creation process, public comments are accepted that are integral in shaping the final critical habitat designation. We submitted comments to FWS; the following summary highlights our key concerns.

FWS originally recommended including submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) within 18.6 miles (30 km) of warm-water habitat in the proposed critical habitat designation. While this distance may appear adequate, we outlined concerns about the ongoing loss of SAV and why this distance may not be sufficient. For instance, the Indian River Lagoon has experienced a catastrophic loss of over 90% of its seagrass biomass due to harmful algal blooms and reduced light penetration. Similarly, other essential areas like Tampa Bay and Kings Bay have faced significant vegetation declines from hurricanes and nutrient pollution similar to the issues on the east coast of Florida.

Further, manatees often travel up to 31 miles (50 km) in search of food during the winter, highlighting the importance of extending habitat boundaries. In the summer, their home ranges can also extend up to 31 miles from their warmwater refuges. However, proposed critical habitat designations excluded areas like Mosquito Lagoon, which offers ample seagrass and could play a vital role in supporting manatee survival. The resources in Mosquito Lagoon have already been instrumental in reducing manatee mortalities caused by forage scarcity in areas surrounding the Cape Canaveral Energy Center and the Indian River Lagoon. Therefore, we strongly urged FWS to expand critical habitat designations to include areas up to 31 miles from warm-water refuges and incorporate Mosquito Lagoon into designated critical habitat.

Another issue is the exclusion of artificial warm-water refuges, such as power plant outflows, from critical habitat designations. Currently, over half of the manatee population depends on these artificial refuges for survival. However, as power plants transition to cleaner energy sources, these refuges may disappear, posing a significant threat to manatees. We strongly advocated for including power plant warm-water outfalls in critical habitat designations, citing prior examples where artificial habitats were designated as critical habitat by FWS. Additionally, we provided evidence supporting the inclusion of other warm-water locations that were not already included, such as the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and the entirety of the Ocklawaha River. These locations provide essential travel routes to warm water or have established use by manatees during winter.

Further, Save the Manatee Club, as well as our partners, issued action alerts to our community, encouraging everyone to comment on the proposed rule—and you responded! Over 70,000 comments have been submitted so far, and we cannot thank you enough for stepping up to help protect manatees and their habitat.

Manatees are a beloved species and an essential part of Florida’s ecosystem. Protecting their habitat not only ensures their survival but also benefits other wildlife and supports the health of aquatic ecosystems. If you want to be engaged in future efforts to protect manatees, please visit savethemanatee.org/take-action and sign up for our action alerts!