MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



November 1991 to establish four additional manatee 

 sanctuaries. The four areas cover a total of about 32 

 acres and include grassbeds used regularly by mana- 

 tees for feeding. The emergency rules went into 

 effect on 15 November 1991 and expire on 14 March 

 1992. Like rules for the three existing sanctuaries, 

 they prohibit all waterbome activities, including 

 swimming, diving, and boating. Early in 1992, the 

 Service expects to publish proposed rules to establish 

 new permanent manatee sanctuaries in Kings Bay. 



Land Acquisition — Acquiring important manatee 

 habitats for inclusion in existing Federal and State 

 protected area systems is a major part of the manatee 

 recovery program. It is one of the most important 

 means of addressing long-term habitat protection 

 objectives. Often habitat most important to manatees 

 also is vital to many other wildlife species as well. 

 Thus, while a few acquisitions may be primarily to 

 further manatee protection, more often a potential 

 site's importance as manatee habitat is but one impor- 

 tant factor favoring the action. 



At the Federal level, most acquisitions to protect 

 manatees are carried out by the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service using money from the Federal Land and 

 Water Conservation Fund. Acquired sites are added 

 to the National Wildlife Refuge System, which is 

 managed by the Service. At the State level, most 

 acquisitions are made through Florida's Conservation 

 and Recreation Lands Trust Fund. The State Fund is 

 administered by the Florida Governor and Cabinet, 

 which serve as the Fund's Board of Trustees, and by 

 a Land Acquisition Advisory Council. The latter 

 group evaluates and ranks acquisition projects and the 

 Board approves or deletes listed projects. The Divi- 

 sion of State Lands in the Department of Natural 

 Resources provides staff support, and the Office of 

 Protected Species Management identifies acquisition 

 projects important for manatees. Projects important 

 for manatee protection are eligible for priority ftinding 

 through the Trust Fund. 



Acquisitions in the Crystal River Area: The first 

 land acquisition principally for manatees was in the 

 Crystal River area on Florida's west coast in 1982 

 when The Nature Conservancy acquired the islands in 

 Kings Bay to prevent their proposed development. In 



1984, the Conservancy sold the islands to the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, which incorporated them into the 

 National Wildlife Refuge System as the Crystal River 

 National Wildlife Refuge. 



While protecting manatee habitat in Kings Bay is 

 essential because of its fundamental importance as a 

 winter refuge, accompanying efforts also must be 

 made to protect habitat used by manatees in other 

 seasons. To help address this need, the Commission 

 prepared a report on habitat requirements and protec- 

 tion needs for the Crystal River manatees in 1984 (see 

 Appendix B, Marine Mammal Commission 1984). 



The report recommended that the Service and the 

 State work together to expand the regional network of 

 Refuges and Reserves to include more of the areas 

 most important to manatees. The report urged atten- 

 tion to a four-county area (Dixie, Levy, Citrus, and 

 Hernando Counties) that contained the region's most 

 important manatee habitat. It recommended areas for 

 acquisition along the Crystal River and efforts to 

 coordinate Federal and State regional acquisition 

 efforts. In response, the Service convened a meeting 

 in March 1985 to develop a reconmiended joint 

 Federal-State approach for expanding regional acquisi- 

 tion efforts to better protect manatee habitat. 



Since 1985, much has been accomplished. In the 

 late 1980s, the Fish and Wildlife Service acquired 

 most of the 56,(X)0-acre Lower Suwannee National 

 Wildlife Refuge. The reftige includes some of the 

 region's most important summer feeding and resting 

 areas for manatees. The Service also developed and 

 approved a proposal to add 3, (XX) acres along the 

 lower Homosassa River to its regional refuge system. 

 The lower Homosassa River is an essential access 

 corridor to the warm-water refuge at the head of the 

 river and a feeding and resting area for manatees in 

 non-winter months. In 1991, the Service received 

 $5(X),(XX) through the Land and Water Conservation 

 Fund to acquire the area as part of the Crystal River 

 National Wildlife Refuge and acquisition is expected 

 to proceed in 1992. 



In 1990, the Service also acquired a 3.5-acre site 

 on Kings Bay to serve as a headquarters for its 

 regional refuge management staff. The site, selected 



12 



