Norton Moves to Reverse Manatee Protection Rules

Defenders of Wildlife
Tuesday, 12 February 2002

Manatee refuges added to list of Norton Environmental Roll-Backs

Save the Manatee Club, Defenders of Wildlife, the Humane Society of the U.S., and other environmental and animal protection groups today released a May 2000 letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which demonstrates how recent moves by Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton to weaken longstanding federal regulations authorizing the creation of manatee refuges and sanctuaries constitute a dramatic reversal of USFWS manatee policy.

The May 2, 2000 letter from USFWS Florida Field Supervisor David L. Hankla objected strongly to proposals by the State of Florida to allow commercial interests and others to exceed the posted speed limits within designated manatee protection zones. In addition to the obvious danger to manatees, Hankla pointed out the tremendous enforcement headache that would result from having different rules apply to different boaters, and noted that such a policy would confuse the public and dramatically reduce overall compliance. A copy of that letter – which also notes that the state proposal would violate federal and state laws – follows this release.

The Department of Interior announcement reversing this position appears in a January 7, 2002 Federal Register Notice which, ironically, designates two new manatee refuges in Brevard County, historically one of the highest mortality counties in Florida. While taking that long-overdue step -- required by a landmark settlement reached between the Interior Department and conservation groups last January -- the Department also announced that it intends to create its own broad new "exceptions" that would allow boat manufacturers and others to operate watercraft at high speeds in manatee refuges and sanctuaries.

"Especially with the very high numbers of manatees killed by boats -- with at least 81 last year alone, just one less than the all-time record set in 2000 -- it is outrageous that the federal government would water down manatee protection rules just to benefit a handful of big corporations," According to Patti Thompson of Save the Manatee Club.

Norton's policy reversal will directly benefit the Sea Ray company, a boat manufacturer which tests in the Barge Canal -- one of the two new Brevard County water ways designated as a refuge. Boat manufacturers' tests have in the past struck and killed at least two manatees – one of which Sea Ray admits responsibility for – and there are readily available alternatives to the Barge Canal for such testing. However, the corporation's lobbying efforts nonetheless convinced the Interior Department officials to weaken federal rules so that such commercial, but harmful, operations can continue unimpeded, according to manatee advocates.

"It's a classic exemption carved out for a politically well-connected industry," said Mike Senatore, director of Defenders of Wildlife's legal department. "Instead of asking a company to take simple steps to protect the manatee like tens of thousands of other Floridians do every year, this Interior Department tells Sea Ray 'damn the manatees, full speed ahead!'"

Without the department's proposed revisions, the only exceptions to the Marine Mammal Protection Act authorized by current federal law are designed to prevent imminent risks to human safety and property.

SMC and the other groups also noted that the Interior Department has repeatedly insisted that its lack of resources prevents it from taking steps to protect manatees in areas where manatees are dying in record numbers -- such as Lee County, which last year set an all-time record for manatees killed by boats. However, establishing this manufacturer's exception through regulations will require the commitment of significant funding and enforcement personnel resources.

For more information, or to contact Defenders of Wildlife, see their website at: www.defenders.org