Take Action
Manatees face growing threats from habitat loss, boat strikes, water pollution, and changing environmental conditions. While research, rescue, and education are all vital parts of manatee conservation, strong laws and public policies are essential to ensuring their long-term survival.
One of the most powerful ways you can help is by contacting your elected officials to advocate for the protection of manatees and their habitats. Policymakers rely on hearing from constituents to understand what issues matter most. By joining our email list, you’ll receive timely alerts when legislation that could impact manatees is under consideration, along with resources to help you take quick, effective action. Together, we can ensure that manatees have a safe future for generations to come.
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Sign up for our emails to stay informed about issues relating to manatees and how you can help.
Ongoing Action Issues
Vital protections for manatees, among other species, are at risk from proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which have protected vulnerable wildlife for over 50 years. The ESA Amendments Act of 2025 is a dangerous attempt to rewrite the landmark law to eliminate critical habitat protections and weaken scientific oversight. Additionally, a newly proposed draft bill targets the MMPA and would weaken protections and redefine recovery as mere “survival.” These changes would leave manatees and other wildlife vulnerable to extinction.
We must act now. If these changes move forward, manatees, other marine mammals, and the ecosystems they depend on will be left defenseless. Use our short form to write to your Members of Congress and urge them to defend the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act and reject any attempts to weaken them.
Save the Manatee Club is a proud member of the Reunite the Rivers Coalition. After more than 50 years, it’s time to breach the obsolete dam and allow the Ocklawaha River to be free-flowing and connected to Silver Springs and the St. Johns again.
Take the pledge(external link) to stand with us, and countless other Floridians, as we support and advocate for the restoration of the Ocklawaha River during the 2026 Florida Legislative Session.
Be Fertilizer-Free For Manatees
Nutrient pollution in Florida’s waterways is a critical problem, fueling repeated harmful algal blooms in coastal waters. In the Indian River Lagoon, a critical manatee habitat, such harmful algal blooms have destroyed native seagrass, resulting in the deaths by starvation of hundreds of manatees. An unprecedented 1,100 manatees died in Florida in 2021 with the trend continuing into 2022. While seagrass has started to come back in areas of the Indian River Lagoon, we must stay vigilant and do our part to preserve water quality, both in the state and around the world.
Together, we can protect these critical habitats for manatees, other aquatic life, and our own future generations by reducing human sources of pollution such as fertilizers, improperly treated sewage, leaking septic systems, and stormwater runoff. While Save the Manatee Club works with our partners to strengthen policies that protect water quality, the individual actions of each Florida resident can make a big difference for the health of our waterways. Do your part: take the pledge to be Fertilizer-Free for Manatees!
