Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 
For example, shortly after the Recovery Plan was 
updated, the Commission reviewed the revised plan to 
assess funding and personnel levels needed by the 
Service to meet its basic research and management 
obligations in Fiscal Years 1991 through 1995. The 
results, provided to the Service by letter of 2 March 
1990, recommended that, in Fiscal Years 1991 and 
1992, funding for research be increased to at least 
$583,000 and $598,000, respectively, and that fund- 
ing for management be increased to at least $315,000 
and $327,000, respectively. To help meet its expand- 
ed obligations, the Service was granted a special Con- 
gressional appropriation for work on manatees and 
certain other endangered species late in 1990. Subse- 
quently, by letters of 12 March and 20 May 1991, the 
Service advised the Commission that it intended to 
support manatee work at levels in excess of those 
identified in the Commission’s letter. 
With strong leadership and support from the 
Florida Legislature, the State’s Department of Natural 
Resources also has made outstanding progress. In 
1989, the State Legislature authorized a Save the 
Manatee Trust Fund to cover the salaries and expenses 
related to manatee work in Florida. The fund is 
maintained in part by fees collected for a special 
Florida automobile license plate featuring a manatee. 
Support is also provided by allocating a small portion 
of annual State boat registration fees, supplemental 
donations offered by Florida boaters when submitting 
boat registration forms, and other sources. The fund 
enabled the State Legislature to increase the Depart- 
ment’s manatee budget to $1.2 million in State Fiscal 
Year 1990-91 (1 July to 30 June) and $2.2 million in 
Fiscal Year 1991-92. For Fiscal Year 1992-93, the 
State Legislature has authorized $2.9 million for the 
manatee program. 
Part of the funding increase has been used to 
expand the program staff from fewer than 10 to more 
than 20 employees. Major departmental activities 
include (1) developing and implementing county-wide 
boat speed regulatory zones in 13 key counties where 
the risk of manatee-vessel collisions is greatest; 
(2) helping those key counties develop manatee 
protection plans; (3) purchasing equipment and 
facilities to improve the manatee salvage and necropsy 
program and coordinate manatee rescues; (4) expand- 
ing aerial survey and radio-tracking studies to monitor 
manatee movements and numbers; (5) developing a 
geographic information system to handle data needed 
for day-to-day manatee management decisions; and 
(6) reviewing permit applications for proposed devel- 
opments and events (e.g., boat races) in manatee 
habitat. 
Although the Fish and Wildlife Service and the 
Florida Department of Natural Resources together 
form the core of the manatee recovery program, the 
involvement of many other agencies and organizations 
is no less important. In this regard there is an out- 
standing record of contributions and support. For 
example, the Florida Governor and Cabinet and 
county officials are devoting substantial efforts to 
developing boat speed regulations and other measures 
that will be included in county manatee protection 
plans. Similarly, the Governor and Cabinet and the 
State’s Land Acquisition Advisory Council have 
directed the acquisition of thousands of acres of prime 
manatee habitat for inclusion in State park, reserve, 
and preserve systems. 
Examples of strong Federal agency support include 
the Navy’s prompt response to manatee mortalities 
caused by the propellers of large tugs at the Kings 
Bay submarine base in southeast Georgia. At consid- 
erable expense, the Navy designed, built, and installed 
propeller shrouds on all the base’s large tugs to 
counter the threat that the powerful blades posed to 
manatees. The base also instituted a public education 
program on manatees in cooperation with the local 
community and installed propeller shrouds on all other 
base vessels. To avoid similar problems with large 
vessels at the Kennedy Space Center, the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration took action in 
the early 1980s to incorporate auxiliary water-jet 
propulsion systems on the ships used to retrieve 
booster rockets after launches of the space shuttle. 
The manatee recovery program also benefits from 
strong private sector involvement. For example, since 
the late 1970s, Florida Power & Light Company has 
conducted an excellent public education and awareness 
program. It has also funded aerial surveys and other 
important manatee research and cooperated in manag- 
ing conditions at thermal discharges used by mana- 
