densities and use patterns; the location of boat speed regu- 

 latory zones; existing boating facilities and trends in their 

 development; zoning requirements; and the results of similar 

 permit reviews in the same geographic area. 



During the Commission's December meeting, information on 

 both approaches was examined. There was general agreement 

 that both approaches merit further work. 



Manatee Research — In recent years, the Florida Department 

 of Natural Resources, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida 

 Power and Light Company, the Save the Manatee Club, and others 

 have assumed increasing roles in supporting and/or doing manatee 

 research. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service, through 

 the Sirenia Project of its National Ecology Research Center, 

 has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that necessary infor- 

 mation on the biology and ecology of manatees is available for 

 making well-reasoned management decisions. In this regard, 

 the Service's manatee research program has provided essential 

 information for decisions on land acquisition, permits for 

 boating facilities, boat speed regulatory zones, and other 

 critical management actions. 



During the Commission's December 1987 meeting, Service 

 representatives described recent research activities, plans 

 for the coming year, and funding projections for Fiscal Year 

 1988. It was clear that there is an urgent need to provide 

 substantially increased support if an improved understanding 

 of both manatee habitat use patterns and factors affecting 

 essential habitat, including sea grass beds, is to be developed. 

 This conclusion was reached after careful review of two multi- 

 year research projects to: (1) continue and expand radio- 

 tracking studies, including satellite-linked tracking, which 

 had been pioneered by scientists in the Service's manatee 

 research program; and (2) study factors affecting sea grass 

 beds in Hobe Sound. In both cases, available support was 

 inadequate. 



In light of information provided at the meeting, the 

 Commission wrote the Fish and Wildlife Service on 29 December 

 1987. In its letter, the Commission: described the urgent 

 need for data on habitat use patterns for each of the more or 

 less discrete manatee subpopulations in Florida; noted that 

 data collection would require radio-tagging and tracking a 

 representative age and sex sample of animals from each group 

 for at least two to four years; stated that a modest, but 

 critically needed program, would involve capturing, tagging, 

 and tracking 20 to 25 manatees annually for five years; and 

 recommended to the Service that it increase the Fiscal Year 

 1988 budget for the Sirenia Project by at least $120,000 and 

 preferably $150,000. To carry these studies forward, the Com- 

 mission recommended that the Sirenia Project budget be main- 



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