State Takes Bald Eagle Off Endangered List; Manatees Next?
Posted on: Wednesday, 7 June 2006, 18:00 CDT
By Curtis Morgan, The Miami Herald
Jun. 7--The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted unanimously today to remove bald eagles from the state's list of endangered species, moving it down a notch to the "threatened" classification.
The 7-0 decision won't go into effect until a management plan is approved, which could take more than a year. The eagle still falls under three federal protection laws and will be protected just as much as it is now, commission officials said.
Later today, the manatee could also lose some of its status as Florida's politically sacred sea cow.
Wildlife managers are expected to drop the mammal from the endangered list to "threatened" -- the middle of Florida's three-tiered list of classifications.
The new classification for the manatee would represent the latest victory for a coalition of boating and marine development interests, which have waged a long campaign against restrictions intended to protect the slow-moving mammal.
What it means for the manatee's future is the subject of dispute.
State wildlife managers insist the less severe designation doesn't mean less stringent protections. And boating groups say the change is actually good news, showing the state's population of sea cows has stabilized. Since 2001, populations counts have hovered around 3,000 -- roughly double estimates from decades earlier.
But environmental groups contend the move will lead to roll backs in slow speed zones for boats -- still a big killer of the mammals -- and weaken other protection efforts.
In addition, the commission will consider upgrading the status of the gopher tortoise and devise a management plan to reduce the numbers killed by development. Under current rules, builders are allowed to bury the animals in their burrows when clearing property. The state estimates some 74,000 have died that way since 1991.
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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Source: The Miami Herald
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