Middleboro Review 2: Florida manatees are starving. We're suing to save them.

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Florida manatees are starving. We're suing to save them.

In 2021 we lost 12.5% of all manatees in Florida. Now, Earthjustice is going to court to save the habitat these creatures rely on to survive.

Over half of the deaths were preventable. Unchecked pollution in Florida’s runoff is causing massive algae outbreaks that kill seagrass — an important food source for manatees, which are already a threatened species. As a result, manatees are starving to death at unprecedented rates.

We threatened to sue if the EPA didn’t revisit its approval of Florida’s inadequate water quality standards. Now, we’re keeping that promise — and we need your help. As we fight for the future of Florida’s manatees, please donate today to support this and other critical cases.

Earthjustice is representing three conservation groups in a lawsuit filed last week. We will make sure the EPA does its job and reassesses Florida’s water quality standards for the Indian River Lagoon.

The Indian River Lagoon is a warm-water habitat that supports more plants and animals than any other estuary in North America. Ten years ago, the EPA approved Florida’s state water quality criteria for the area, concluding they would not “adversely affect” manatees. Now we’re witnessing grim evidence to the contrary.

Florida has been unable to rein in sources of pollution, and the EPA has failed to protect these critical estuary ecosystems from the inevitable effects. Manatees deserve clean water. We all deserve effective environmental regulation.

We can’t take these cases, do this work, or hold power to account without your help. The free legal representation we provide is thanks to thousands of donors like you, giving whatever they’re able.

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Thank you for helping regulate unchecked pollution while officials are failing to do so. Together, we can fight to protect these manatees and the waters they call home.