dedicated source of State funding for manatee work, 

 increasing its staff, and assuming responsibility for certain 

 activities, such as the manatee salvage and necropsy program, 

 previously carried out by the Fish and Wildlife Service. 

 Similarly, the Fish and Wildlife Service has greatly 

 intensified its efforts to control the development of new 

 marinas and other boating facilities in or near essential 

 manatee habitat by reviewing associated wetlands permit 

 applications submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

 In cooperation with the State, the Service also has 

 undertaken substantial planning and land acquisition efforts 

 to add important manatee habitat to existing Federal and 

 State refuges and reserves. 



Despite these accomplishments, it became apparent in 

 1986 that the extraordinary pace of development associated 

 with the State's rapid growth in human population was 

 creating a very difficult management situation and that not 

 all aspects of manatee protection were progressing as well as 

 might be hoped. For instance, because of inadequate man- 

 power, the Florida Department of Natural Resources' Marine 

 Patrol was unable to adequately enforce the boat speed zones 

 that the State had established to protect manatees. At the 

 same time, it was becoming clear that some of the existing 

 speed zones needed to be expanded and many new zones needed 

 to be established. It also was apparent that parts of the 

 Florida State Government with important decision-making 

 responsibilities were not as well informed as might be wished 

 about conservation needs for manatees and their habitat and 

 that important opportunities to improve manatee protection 

 were thereby being lost. For example, the State's dredge- 

 and-fill permit program and its submerged lands leasing 

 program did not appear to be considering potentially harmful 

 effects of development projects on manatees as effectively as 

 they could. At the national level, it was clear that, 

 despite the considerable efforts of the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, permits were being approved by the Corps of 

 Engineers for marinas and other boating facilities in Florida 

 at a pace and in a manner that precluded effective 

 consideration of possible impacts, particularly cumulative 

 impacts, on manatees and their critical habitats. At the 

 same time, the Service was substantially reducing funding 

 support for its Sirenian Research Project, which provides a 

 basic source of information on manatee ecology and demography 

 that is used in the permit review process. Because of these 

 facts, the Commission concluded that a thorough review of the 

 entire manatee protection program was needed. 



Accordingly, the Commission, with additional support 

 from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the concurrence of the 

 Florida Department of Natural Resources, contracted with a 

 knowledgeable consultant to review recent progress and 



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