News

Giving Tuesday is just around the corner! On Tuesday, December 2, we will once again be turning Giving Tuesday into Giving ‘TEESday to support imperiled manatees and their aquatic habitat. Like a manatee slowly moving through the water, help us create ripples of kindness this Giving Tuesday.

Manatees need our help now more than ever with increased boat traffic in their waterways, pressure on their habitat from an ever-growing human population, the loss of warm water sources they so desperately need in the winter months. The laws that were established to protect them, like the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, are on the cutting board. Every donation, however small, helps us reach our ambitious goal of $45,000 for manatees in honor of our upcoming 45th anniversary in 2026.

For almost 45 years, Save the Manatee Club has been the voice for manatees by:

• advocating for strong protection measures, such as sanctuaries and slow speed zones;
• educating thousands of school children, visitors, and waterway enthusiasts about manatees; establishing the longest-running manatee genealogy database in the world with our research at Blue Spring;
• bringing the secret underwater world of manatees to your living room through our live webcams;
• and being a founding member and fiduciary sponsor of the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership, where we help our partners with manatee rescues, rehabilitation, and releases.

Your kindness on Giving ‘TEESday creates a ripple effect into the next year and beyond. Through the generosity of our supporters, we have been able to continue vital work on behalf of manatees and their habitat. Here’s a small sampling of what we’ve accomplished this year thanks to your continued support:

• Research work has continued to help learn more about manatee populations both in the United States and abroad.
• Our conservation team has provided formal comments and letters to federal, state, and local agencies on issues including the Critical Habitat Designation, the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Miami-Dade Manatee Protection Plan, and Ocklawaha River restoration. Save the Manatee Club has also provided input and concerns on several high-impact development projects.
• Save the Manatee Club has distributed over 50 signs to parks, marinas, and other public locations around Florida to provide information on manatee-safe behaviors to visitors. Over 200 signs have also been provided to waterfront property owners to help them alert boaters of manatees in their area.
• Staff members have worked with community groups and coalitions to help reduce harm to manatees in areas where injuries and mortality are occurring.
• We have maintained and upgraded our live manatee webcams at Blue Spring State Park, Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, and Silver Springs State Park. These not only provided beautiful views of manatees to nearly 100,000 viewers in 2025, but also assisted in photo-identification research and with the evaluation of the health of manatees wintering at the parks.
• Save the Manatee Club has printed and distributed materials to classrooms to help promote education to thousands of students about manatee-safe behaviors and how we can all help protect these gentle giants and their habitat.