Manatee Coalition Returns to Court to Prevent Further Manatee Deaths

(10/15/2002) - WASHINGTON -- Defenders of Wildlife, Save the Manatee Club, the Humane Society of the United States, the Sierra Club and several Florida residents are filing suit today in U.S. District Court in Washington against the Bush Administration for once again flouting their legal obligations to protect the endangered Florida manatee. The suit is being filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Department of the Interior for approving the new Goodby's Creek Boat Ramp located in manatee critical habitat in Duval County, Florida. At least 10 manatees already have been killed by boat collisions so far this year in Duval County, which is the highest number of manatees killed in Duval County since record keeping began in 1974.

Throughout Florida this year, 85 manatees have already been killed by boat collisions, which is three more than the all-time record for an entire year. The new boat ramp will make an already unacceptable situation in Duval County -- one of the deadliest counties for manatees -- and throughout Florida even worse by contributing even more boat traffic to areas used by manatees for feeding, breeding and other essential activities.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has repeatedly declared that manatee protections in Duval County are 'inadequate' to protect manatees from power boat collisions, yet instead of expanding such protections, Gale Norton and her cohorts in the Bush Administration have illegally approved yet another major project that will place manatees in even graver peril of being killed maimed by boats," said Eric R. Glitzenstein, lead attorney for the coalition.

This latest action comes on the heels of U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan's July ruling that the Bush Administration flagrantly violated its legal obligations under a landmark Consent Decree to designate new manatee refuges and sanctuaries throughout peninsular Florida. In response to that violation, Judge Sullivan has ordered Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and other federal officials to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court for their refusal to comply with the Decree.

"The Bush Administration's actions with respect to the manatee have been nothing short of deplorable," said Mike Senatore of Defenders of Wildlife. "Rather than focusing its limited resources on increasing protections for manatees as it is legally obligated, the Bush Administration instead makes the situation much worse by approving a project that will increase the likelihood that even more manatees will be slaughtered in Florida waterways."

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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading non-profit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 430,000 members and supporters - 100,000 of whom are in California - Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues. To stay current on hot topics in wildlife conservation, please visit www.defenders.org.

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Contact(s):

Mike Senatore, (202) 682-9400