News

By Elizabeth Neville, Director of Environmental Law and Policy

Late 2025 and early 2026 saw lots of engagement on bedrock environmental laws and exciting updates on state-level priorities to further manatee conservation. Remember to check Save the Manatee Club’s “Take Action” webpage to see how you can support our policy work to protect manatees.

In December 2025, Save the Manatee Club (SMC) submitted public comments on four proposed regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA), co-drafted with colleagues in the conservation community. This was a priority because the four proposed regulations will harm manatees if implemented, such as by constricting critical habitat and eliminating the “4(d) Rule,” which provides ESA-listed threatened species, like manatees, with most of their protections under the ESA. SMC appreciates our supporters who utilized our action alert to oppose these terrible proposed rules.

Shortly thereafter, in early January, SMC submitted independent comments on regulations implementing the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (now called the Clean Water Act). These regulations would severely limit which wetlands and water bodies in Florida fall under the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction—deemed Waters of the United States—resulting in more pollution into manatee habitat. To protect manatees and the resources they depend on, notably seagrasses, SMC submitted comments opposing aspects of these regulations.

Later in January, SMC submitted comments on the First Analysis and Proposal for the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program. Concerningly, this Proposed Program would permit oil and gas drilling off Florida’s Gulf coast, placing manatees and habitat at risk. Oil and gas activities off Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts are prohibited by a longstanding moratorium that President Trump extended to 2032 in 2020. In our comments, SMC asked the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to withdraw the program area off Florida’s coast, as the moratorium requires, and to generally enforce decommissioning responsibilities for the 14,000 abandoned, leaking oil wells in the Gulf before allowing additional oil and gas activities.

On a regional level, SMC testified at a meeting of the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners to support continued funding for the Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) Program. The SOIRL Program, funded by a half-cent sales tax in Brevard County, supports beneficial water quality restoration programs throughout the lagoon. The sales tax, approved by a 2016 ballot measure, will soon expire. As demonstrated by the 2020-2022 Unusual Mortality Event, which claimed the lives of over 1,200 manatees primarily from starvation due to seagrass loss in the lagoon, the health of the Indian River Lagoon is essential for manatees’ continued survival. Seagrass is recovering in parts of the lagoon, and programs like SOIRL are crucial for supporting this positive trend. SMC will continue to advocate that the SOIRL Program continue.

One more exciting SMC policy priority is restoration of the Ocklawaha River. At the time of this writing*, bills to support restoring the river were introduced by Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-10) and Rep. Wyman Duggan (R-12) and unanimously passed their first committee stops. Restoring the Ocklawaha and its 20 freshwater springs will provide natural warm-water habitat to potentially hundreds of manatees and provide unimpeded access to the Silver River and Silver Springs. We are grateful to our legislative champions for supporting this exciting restoration project.

*Note: The 2026 Florida legislative session ended on March 13, and Save the Manatee Club is disappointed to report that SB 1066/HB 981—which would have galvanized restoration of the Ocklawaha River—died because Senate President Albritton failed to schedule the bill for a vote on the Senate floor. Without that vote, the legislation could not move forward this year.

We are extremely grateful to Senator Jason Brodeur and Representative Wyman Duggan for being steadfast, passionate, visionary champions for this legislation. And we are grateful for YOU, our supporters, for standing up for the river throughout the session by signing action alerts, making calls, and generally supporting manatees and the river.