The Florida manatee, the slow-moving, weed-munching, underwater mammal, is listed as an endangered species. It has been co-opted as a tool of American anti-growth advocates whom critics say are less concerned with the animals’ welfare than with restricting development.
For instance, Patrick Rose, a lobbyist for the Save the Manatee Club, calls manatees “the best, most effective growth-management tool that exists.”
Here’s how it works:
While it is true that watercraft-related manatee deaths have been increasing in the last several decades, boaters attribute that to the growth in the state’s manatee populations.
Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services proposed to charge $546 for each new boat slip to pay for added local manatee speed patrols. But the plan was withdrawn after it was opposed by Governor Jeb Bush.
Some observers are disgusted that the welfare of the manatees has been lost in the anti-growth debate. In one instance, the Save the Manatee Club abandoned its opposition to a development project after the developer offered to contribute $200,000 to the organisation.
Source: Andrew C. Revkin, How Endangered a Species? New York Times, February 12, 2002.
For NY Times text http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/12/science/12MANA.html
For more on Endangered Species http://www.ncpa.org/pi/enviro/envdex4a.html
FMF Policy Bulletin\20 February 2002
