Fw: Please Don't Downlist Manatees!

[Guest guest]

Please Don't Downlist ManateesSave the Manatee Club

 

Please Don't Downlist Manatees!

On Endangered Species Day,

Take Action to Protect Them

 

The bottom line here is that the manatee is not safe from extinction, no

matter how officials play the numbers game, and significant threats on its

survival continue to haunt it.

--Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel

 

On Friday, May 18th, Americans from all across the country will celebrate

Endangered Species Day. But as we pay tribute to our nation's endangered

species, manatees are facing their biggest threat ever. Recently, after

conducting a 5-year review of the manatee's federal status, the U.S. Fish &

Wildlife Service (Service) recommended downlisting them from " endangered " to

" threatened. "

 

We need you to help manatees by sending a quick online letter now!

http://www.savethemanatee.org/actionalert.cfm?id=14

 

Why aren't we celebrating the news we have fought for so many years to hear?

Because these actions are politically driven. With the market for coastal

land skyrocketing, powerful groups have been lobbying for a long time to

change the manatee's status.

 

According to the Service's own Recovery Plan, manatees should NOT be

downlisted until deaths from boat strikes and the destruction of habitat are

brought under control. But these threats are increasing. And the Service

ignored a recent report from the U.S. Geological Survey that stated: " Any

increase in watercraft-related mortality substantially increases the risk of

the Florida manatee population reaching the point of no probable recovery. "

 

 

What You Can Do:

Act Now! Please let decision-makers know you strongly oppose the manatee's

downlisting at this time. Click on the link below to get more information on

this issue and to send a quick and easy online letter to Dirk Kempthorne,

U.S. Secretary of the Interior; H. Dale Hall, Director of the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service; and Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

 

http://www.savethemanatee.org/actionalert.cfm?id=14

 

 

Ask all your friends and family members to send the letter.

 

 

Make a donation now to help us take whatever actions are necessary,

including legal action, to ensure that manatees are protected to the full

extent of federal and state law. Please be as generous as possible so we can

have the resources to act decisively.

Thanks for your help on this important issue for manatees!

 

 

Find an Endangered Species Day event near you.

http://www.stopextinction.org/site/c.epIQKXOBJsG/b.1605447/k.2BD1/Endangered

_Species_Day_events.htm?auid=2671755