Manatees can't wait, so we're going to court

 

Give Now » Already this year, 154 manatees have died in Florida. This tragic die-off must end. The Center for Biological Diversity has launched a new lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to increase protections for these gentle marine mammals. Please help our fight for manatees and other imperiled species by giving to the Saving Life on Earth Fund. What's happening to West Indian manatees in Florida and Puerto Rico is ecocide. In 2017 the Service weakened protections for manatees. Predictably, declines followed. Deaths spiked too. Pollution-fueled algae severely choked the seagrass that manatees depend on for food. About 20% of the population died — nearly 2,000 individuals — between 2020 and 2021. While some seagrass has returned and slowed the starvation, more help is desperately needed. We petitioned the Service in 2022 to restore full protections for manatees under the Endangered Species Act. The Service had 12 months to decide. We're still waiting, but manatees can't afford to wait. So we let the Service know we'll take it to court. The agency knows Florida manatees will soon lose their most important winter refugia as warm-water power plant outfalls go offline. The agency even agrees that seagrass losses from water pollution may pose a threat to the manatees and that full protection may be warranted. Manatees face other threats too. More than half of sampled Florida manatees are chronically exposed to glyphosate, a potent herbicide applied to crops and aquatic weed. And almost all Florida manatees — 96% — have watercraft-related scars. Farther south, as few as 250 manatees remain in Puerto Rico. Species are vanishing at record rates. Stopping the extinction crisis means acting with urgency and not letting bureaucracy get in the way of saving wildlife in crisis. It's clear manatees need more protection and fast. We'll keep going to court and doing what's right for species. It's what we're called to do, and we need you with us. Please give today to the Saving Life on Earth Fund. For the wild,

Kierán Suckling Executive Director Center for Biological Diversity   P.S. Monthly supporters who give steady gifts of $10 or $20 sustain the Center's swift and continued action to save wildlife. Do your part by starting a monthly donation.

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