protection. The Council has met periodically since that 

 time. In many respects, its meetings have partially fulfilled 

 important functions previously addressed by the Recovery 

 Team. For example, representatives of the Service and other 

 interested parties participate regularly in Council meetings, 

 affording all concerned a valuable opportunity to review and 

 coordinate ongoing Federal, State, and private recovery 

 activities. 



By 1987, the importance of regular Council meetings had 

 been well established. Unfortunately, the money provided by 

 the Commission for its operation had been exhausted. Therefore, 

 the Commission offered to continue to support the Council's 

 operation. On 18 December 1987, the Commission's offer was 

 accepted by the Director of the Department of Natural Resources, 

 and the Commission will provide the Department with funds in 

 early 1988. 



Manatee-Related Land Acquisition — To help encourage 

 and guide efforts to protect manatee habitat in Florida, the 

 Commission, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors, completed a report in 1984 entitled "Habitat Protec- 

 tion Needs for the Subpopulation of West Indian Manatees in 

 the Crystal River Area of Northwest Florida." On 31 October 

 1984, the Commission transmitted its Report to the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service and recommended that prompt action be taken 

 to acquire certain wetlands and uplands along the Crystal and 

 lower Suwannee Rivers. It also recommended that steps be taken 

 to coordinate these efforts with regional land acquisition 

 plans of State and private groups. In response, the Service 

 convened a meeting with representatives of the State of Florida 

 and the Commission in March 1985. During the meeting, land 

 acquisition needs and plans related to Crystal River manatees 

 were reviewed, and agreement was reached on the need to pursue 

 several regional land acquisition projects important for pro- 

 tecting essential manatee habitat. 



During the Commission's December meeting, activities of 

 the State of Florida and the Fish and Wildlife Service in 

 land acquisition in the Crystal River area were reviewed. It 

 was apparent that substantial progress had been made. Among 

 other things, the Commission learned that the State soon expects 

 to complete acquisition projects involving 150 acres of land 

 surrounding the warm-water spring at the head of the Homosassa 

 River and some 2,000 acres of wetland and upland between the 

 Crystal and Homosassa Rivers. In addition, the Service said 

 that it had received a $650,000 appropriation for Fiscal Year 

 1988 to acquire a site on Kings Bay to serve as the headquarters 

 and visitor center for the Crystal River National Wildlife 

 Refuge. During the March 1985 meeting, such a site had been 

 recognized as being urgently needed to improve visitor 

 education and enforcement of manatee protection. Given the 



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