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The endangered manatee is currently facing multiple attacks in Florida. After weeks of stalling, Senate Bill 540 (SB 540) has finally reached Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s desk for review. He now has until June 30 to either veto this bad bill, sign it into law, or do nothing. If he signs the bill or does nothing, it will become law and weaken manatee protection. And despite close to 20,000 e-mails from you asking him to veto it, we’ve heard word from people close to the governor’s office that he may just let the bill go without doing anything in order to avoid political pressures. We need him to take a stand for the manatee and VETO SB 540 to safeguard protections for the endangered species.

Please do as much as you can to tell Governor Bush that you want him to VETO Senate Bill 540 (SB 540). Calling and sending a fax with your own personal note, as a Florida resident or as a concerned citizen outside of the state, will send the strongest message to the Governor, and please pass this alert on to a friend.

1. CALL the Governor directly at (850) 488-4441, and tell whomever answers the phone that you want Governor Bush to veto SB 540.

2. SEND A FAX with your own personal message asking for the veto at this number: (850) 487-0801.

Any Bu$h ≠ Environmental Responsibility

Speaking of manatees, here's one that surfaced on the NC coast last week:



Rare Manatee Pays A Visit

By JAMIE CAMERON

Tideland News Writer

The Swansboro waterfront has hosted its share of sea monsters through the years - giant sea turtles, alligators and even sharks have occasionally come a-calling to the Friendly City By the Sea.

The monster that surfaced off the end of Alex and Betty Moore's boat dock on Friday wasn't looking for trouble, just a quiet cove in which to get away from the riff-raff and munch some greens.

Eventually identified as a rare West Indian manatee, the creature caused quite a stir among the residents of Hawkins Creek, who initially feared that their tranquil waterway had attracted a dangerously large gator.

"My husband, Alex, came running back to the house. He thought it was an alligator," said Moore, who manages the main office at Swansboro Middle School. "We were concerned because there are a lot of people who boat and jet-ski in the creek. There are a lot of children in the neighborhood."

It turns out, folks had little to fear from the gentle giant that surfaced intermittently within sight of the White Oak River bridges for 2-1/2 hours before it eventually departed. Estimated to be 10 feet in length, the Hawkins Creek manatee, like all others of its kind, is a strict vegetarian.

Full-grown manatees weigh as much as 1,000 pounds and need to eat 10-15 percent of their body weight in aquatic vegetation a day. The rotund animals, also known as sea cows, graze both on the surface of the water and next to the bottom, wherever forage is most abundant.

Manatees resemble seals and sea lions, but are actually more closely related to elephants, according to DNA studies. Underpowered by small fore-flippers and a large, beaver-like tail, these unique marine mammals are slow moving. They also have poor eyesight, which combined with other limiting physical features, makes them particularly susceptible to fatal run-ins with powerboats.

Although they are considered rare in North Carolina, manatee sightings are on the rise.

"They're not resident here, but they do migrate through our area," said Gretchen Lovewell, Marine Mammal Stranding coordinator in Morehead City. "It seems like we're getting more and more reported every year."

In the last several years there have been three other manatees sighted in local waters - one off Onslow Beach in 2001 and one around Bogue Inlet in July of the same year.

Most recently, a dead manatee was discovered in January after it washed ashore in Stone Bay in Onslow County. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department officials believe cold water temperatures could have contributed to the animal's demise.

The West Indian manatee is protected by the Endangered Species Act throughout its range in the U.S. Population counts on the animals' wintering areas in Florida reveal there are approximately 2,600 of the gentle giants left.

Because of their size and the coastal areas they inhabit, manatees have no natural predators. Life expectancies are estimated at 60 years or more. Boat-strikes, however, take a significant toll on the population each year.

"People do need to be careful around manatees," cautioned Lovewell. "They are slow moving and care should be taken so boaters don't run them over."

The Hawkins Creek manatee came to no such harm during its short visit, but was spooked when the Moores released a boat that had been under repair next to their dock from a railway system.

"The last time I saw it, it was in the middle of the creek and heading out," said Moore. "In all the years we've lived here, more than 30, we've never seen anything like that."

http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/20 ... /s0540.pdf

It's a very proactive bill and it definitely needs to be signed into law.

this is something that was very dear to ph911's heart..........


I just don't know if a bunch of non Florida voters will help but it won't hurt to call!!!!

Boy, when I first saw this subject line I thought I was in trouble and didn't even know it.

Seriously, I'm not sure how much impact out of staters will/can have however if enough people indicate that they won't be visiting Florida because of this bill, I'm pretty sure that they will have an impact. My one request is that before you get involved that you do the research to make sure you know what you are supporting.

12vmanRick wrote:http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/20 ... /s0540.pdf

It's a very proactive bill and it definitely needs to be signed into law.

Err, I thought the subject of the thread was to veto the legislation.

From the Save the Manatees website:

"What This Legislation Will Do:

Hidden within this Trojan horse of supposed studies to help manatees are new limitations on the state's authority to adopt new speed zones to protect manatees and language promoting recreational boating. These new limitations take effect even before manatees are recovered from endangered status and new language is inserted into the Manatee Sanctuary Act declaring that the "mission" of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) is to both maximize manatee protection and maximize recreational boating in Florida waterways.

While the sponsors and Marine Manufacturers may pass this off as a mere statement of philosophy, it will be used by disgruntled boaters to challenge manatee protections anywhere they exist on the basis that any manatee protection at all means their recreational boating opportunities are not "increased to the highest possible" -- which is Webster's definition of maximize.

To add insult to injury, the funding for the studies that were supposed to help manatees was stricken from the bill before its final passage -- leaving only more restrictions on the FWCC's authority to protect manatees.

Despite numerous editorials against this legislation from papers across Florida, criticisms from many long-time manatee and wildlife experts, and objections from most of Florida's environmental and public interest organizations, the legislature approved these changes to the Manatee Sanctuary Act that were brought forward by representatives of the Marine Manufacturers and the go-fast boating groups. Even so, it may not be too late to stop these harmful changes from taking effect."

Blonde Stranger wrote:

12vmanRick wrote:http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/20 ... /s0540.pdf

It's a very proactive bill and it definitely needs to be signed into law.

Err, I thought the subject of the thread was to veto the legislation.

From the Save the Manatees website:

"What This Legislation Will Do:

Hidden within this Trojan horse of supposed studies to help manatees are new limitations on the state's authority to adopt new speed zones to protect manatees and language promoting recreational boating. These new limitations take effect even before manatees are recovered from endangered status and new language is inserted into the Manatee Sanctuary Act declaring that the "mission" of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) is to both maximize manatee protection and maximize recreational boating in Florida waterways.

While the sponsors and Marine Manufacturers may pass this off as a mere statement of philosophy, it will be used by disgruntled boaters to challenge manatee protections anywhere they exist on the basis that any manatee protection at all means their recreational boating opportunities are not "increased to the highest possible" -- which is Webster's definition of maximize.

To add insult to injury, the funding for the studies that were supposed to help manatees was stricken from the bill before its final passage -- leaving only more restrictions on the FWCC's authority to protect manatees.

Despite numerous editorials against this legislation from papers across Florida, criticisms from many long-time manatee and wildlife experts, and objections from most of Florida's environmental and public interest organizations, the legislature approved these changes to the Manatee Sanctuary Act that were brought forward by representatives of the Marine Manufacturers and the go-fast boating groups. Even so, it may not be too late to stop these harmful changes from taking effect."

Um.. well according to the bill (which I didn't see an amendments ) it looked like a good thing to me. Where can you find the "hidden" things attached to this bill ? I surely would be interested in reading it.

12vmanRick wrote:

Blonde Stranger wrote:

12vmanRick wrote:http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/20 ... /s0540.pdf

It's a very proactive bill and it definitely needs to be signed into law.

Err, I thought the subject of the thread was to veto the legislation.

From the Save the Manatees website:

"What This Legislation Will Do:

Hidden within this Trojan horse of supposed studies to help manatees are new limitations on the state's authority to adopt new speed zones to protect manatees and language promoting recreational boating. These new limitations take effect even before manatees are recovered from endangered status and new language is inserted into the Manatee Sanctuary Act declaring that the "mission" of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) is to both maximize manatee protection and maximize recreational boating in Florida waterways.

While the sponsors and Marine Manufacturers may pass this off as a mere statement of philosophy, it will be used by disgruntled boaters to challenge manatee protections anywhere they exist on the basis that any manatee protection at all means their recreational boating opportunities are not "increased to the highest possible" -- which is Webster's definition of maximize.

To add insult to injury, the funding for the studies that were supposed to help manatees was stricken from the bill before its final passage -- leaving only more restrictions on the FWCC's authority to protect manatees.

Despite numerous editorials against this legislation from papers across Florida, criticisms from many long-time manatee and wildlife experts, and objections from most of Florida's environmental and public interest organizations, the legislature approved these changes to the Manatee Sanctuary Act that were brought forward by representatives of the Marine Manufacturers and the go-fast boating groups. Even so, it may not be too late to stop these harmful changes from taking effect."

Um.. well according to the bill (which I didn't see an amendments ) it looked like a good thing to me. Where can you find the "hidden" things attached to this bill ? I surely would be interested in reading it.

To tell you the truth, I just repeated what I found out. I haven't looked at the bill myself, made a comparison to existing legislation, and haven't looked at any other criticism/support to see other perspectives. I am, however, deeply familiar with the ability of politicians to creatively draft legislation that seems to say one thing but really does another.

I read the all the contents of the bill and I really dont find any problem in it. In my opinion, this will not increase the danger to the manatees. It calls for an annually audited ongoing research program that ensures manatee protection and determines the optimum allowance for recreational boaters. Its not just about protecting them from boaters. It is also designed to learn about their health, habitat, and population patterns, etc. The boaters can't use this law as a basis for arguing that they aren't being given the maximum area for their use. Hell, half of the funding is coming from the Marine Fuel Tax. It also calls for research to determine effective ways to promote boater education on manatees, their habitats, and most importantly their protection zones. I just dont see any kind of Trojan horse hidden here. Sign it into law.

Damn, llg, you get whizzed on by a manatee once or something?

My sense is that what's concerning the environmentalists is that the law is clearly attempting to ease current restrictions by doing a thorough study and, dependent on the results, adjusting the level of manatee protection in that particular case. Clearly this is being done to target boating zones that perhaps they feel are overly restricted.

Essentually they're fishing for information that they can then use to limit the manatee protection zones.

But then there are some that would argue that if a particular area doesn't need to be a no wake zone then why should it...

All I know is that we lived (my parents still do) 1.5 miles from the beach and it takes rioughly an hour to get there by boat (rec boat) because the damn manatee zones. Actually manatees are pretty cool and we have them in the canal behind my parents house. No I have nothing against manatees, I just think those shirts (thats where the pics are from) are funny and they make people REALLY mad (another hobby of mine) The speed zones rarely affected me because our boat (workboat) only went 9 knots and that was with the tide