Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 



by the Sirenia Project. While recognizing the difficult 

 budgetary choices faced by the Service, the Commis- 

 sion therefore urged that the Service continue support 

 for the Sirenia Project. 



On 11 October 1995 the National Biological 

 Service replied to the Commission, noting that it 

 recognized the essential role of the Sirenia Project in 

 the manatee recovery program, but that a final deci- 

 sion on support would depend on the extent to which 

 its Fiscal Year 1996 appropriation was reduced. At 

 the end of 1995 decisions in this regard had not yet 

 been made and the National Biological Service was 

 continuing to support the Sirenia Project at reduced 

 levels under temporary spending measures. However, 

 significant reductions in the program's funding in 

 1996 seemed likely. 



Recognizing that support for all essential recovery 

 program tasks is beyond its own resources and capa- 

 bilities, the Fish and Wildlife Service has encouraged 

 direct involvement by many other agencies and groups 

 with shared interest and responsibility for manatee 

 conservation. Of particular note in this regard, the 

 Florida Governor and Cabinet and the Florida State 

 Legislature responded in the 1980s by developing a 

 strong complementary state program to address many 

 needs identified in the Florida manatee recovery plan. 

 The state program is now carried out by the Florida 

 Department of Environmental Protection. During the 

 past Fiscal Year, which ended 30 June 1995, nearly 

 $2.8 million was provided by the State to its manatee 

 program, including more than $1.1 million for re- 

 search and $1.6 million for management tasks. 



Funding for the State's manatee program is provid- 

 ed mainly through the Save the Manatee Trust Fund, 

 authorized by the State Legislature in 1989. Although 

 about one-third of the Trust Fund is derived from a 

 share of annual boat registration fees required by the 

 State, most of its income comes from voluntary 

 donations, including the sale of special manatee 

 automobile license plates and optional check-off 

 donations that boat owners may add to their annual 

 boat registration fees. In a very real sense, therefore, 

 the State's program is a direct reflection of the strong 

 interest and commitment of the citizens of Florida to 

 manatee recovery and conservation. 



Boating Regulations 



As indicated in Table 2, vessel collisions are the 

 largest source of human-related manatee mortality. 

 Because vessel operators cannot reliably detect and 

 avoid manatees, reducing this cause of mortality 

 appears dependent on giving manatees time to avoid 

 oncoming boats. Therefore, the Florida Governor and 

 Cabinet approved an approach recommended in 1989 

 by the Florida Department of Natural Resources to 

 develop county-wide boat speed regulations that would 

 slow boats down in areas where manatees are most 

 likely to occur. The recommendation targeted 13 

 counties where vessel-related manatee deaths were 

 highest and manatee abundance was greatest. To 

 develop the rules, the Department of Natural Resourc- 

 es (now the Department of Environmental Protection) 

 was directed to work with local residents and county 

 officials to review data on local manatee habitat-use 

 patterns and vessel traffic patterns. Based on that 

 information, agreed site-specific measures for each 

 county were to be devised, taking into account needs 

 for both manatee protection and vessel use. 



Between 1989 and 1994 rules were developed 

 through a process of negotiations with local represen- 

 tatives and adopted for 12 of the 13 counties. The 

 rules incorporate a suite of site-specific measures, 

 such as channel-exempt, channel-inclusive, and 

 shoreline-only slow speed zones, high-speed water 

 sport areas, and no-entry areas. In 1995 proposed 

 rules for Lee County, the last of the 13 counties, were 

 published and a public hearing was held. As has 

 happened in several other cases, an administrative 

 challenge was filed against the proposal by local 

 interests. In all previous cases, proposed rules have 

 been upheld, but in the case of Lee County, the 

 hearing officer ruled in favor of those challenging the 

 proposal. As a result, the Department will re-initiate 

 the rulemaking process for Lee County in 1996 to 

 develop a new proposal. 



While substantial progress has been made in 

 developing new rules, their implementation has been 

 slowed by intense controversy and debate that length- 

 ened the negotiation process. Subsequent rule chal- 

 lenges, as occurred in Lee County, also caused 

 necessary implementation steps, such as posting 

 regulatory signs and enforcement, to be deferred 



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