PRESERVING MANATEE HABITAT

As Florida’s human population increases and waterfront development continues,

manatees are losing the habitats they rely on to survive. Development can damage
seagrasses (manatees’ main food source), degrade water quality and reduce the
availability of warm water from natural springs that provide manatees shelter during
periods of cold weather. At temperatures below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the stress of
the cold can become dangerous, or even fatal to manatees.

THE PROBLEM
Residential and commercial development has reduced the number of natural warm springs that
manatees once used to stay warm during the winter. Now, most manatees rely on the warm water
outfall that power plants produce. But if plants are shut down, or their equipment fails, manatees
would be left in the cold. The survival of Florida’s manatees will depend on protecting the natural
warm springs that they rely on, and ensuring that they can enjoy those places safely.

HOW WE'RE HELPING

We have advocated for the establishment of more protected areas for manatees, including Three
Sisters Spring at Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge and Kings Bay Manatee Refuge, so
that manatees can shelter in the warm springs they need and travel to them with reduced threats
from speeding watercraft. And we continue to advocate for increased protection and restoration of
natural springs so that more manatees can use them to keep warm in winter. Defenders also
comments on conservation and management plans for these and other protected areas to ensure
that seagrasses remain healthy for manatees.

We are also encouraging agencies and utility companies to develop plans with manatees in mind so
that any future change in power plant operations don’t endanger these marine mammals.

And lastly, Defenders is working to ensure that manatee critical habitat – that is, the habitat
especially protected for manatees under the Endangered Species Act - will be revised to include
most the important areas, such as warm water, travel corridors, and food sources. Though the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that revision of manatees’ critical habitat is needed, it has
not made this revision a priority, so we continue to push for this much-needed step.