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More than half of Florida manatees rely on power plants to survive. That’s a problem for addressing climate change.
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So far this year, state wildlife officials have recorded 83 deaths across the state through Feb. 9. That figure roughly tracks the number of deaths from the same period last year but is significantly better than 2021 or 2022, when more than 200 manatees died during the same period of about five weeks. Overall, Florida averages more than 700 deaths per year.
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The Brevard County Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) Citizen Oversight Committee voted unanimously Friday to advance proposed updates to a ten-year plan for restoring the polluted lagoon to better health.
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Urban fertilizer application and agricultural fertilizer application are currently “being revised behind the scenes.”
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Seagrasses have been found growing recently in small areas of the Indian River Lagoon along Florida’s east coast where chronic pollution has wiped out much of it, officials said on a Wednesday conference call.
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Three conservation groups have filed a second federal lawsuit involving poor water quality in Florida that is blamed for “catastrophic mortality” of manatees.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he will approve more than $30 million in the coming year’s budget to help manatees, after a record number of sea-cow deaths in 2021 in Florida waters.
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State and federal wildlife officials are working together to address the unusual die-off of manatees. Already this year more than 440 have died. That's high, but not as bad as in 2021.
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Wildlife agencies say they are winding down a program to provide supplemental lettuce for starving manatees in the Indian River Lagoon. The program will be discontinued in about two weeks.
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Many of the rescued manatees have gone to SeaWorld in Orlando. SeaWorld’s Christopher Dold says when the expansion is complete the facility will be the largest in the nation for critical manatees.
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Florida lawmakers included $27 million for manatees in the state budget this session. Advocates say the funding is historic but not enough to solve the long-term problems that have led to an unprecedented die-off.
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Feeding lettuce to manatees might be necessary again next winter because of the dwindling amount of seagrass in the lagoon.
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The annual report card from the Marine Resources Council, an advocacy group, is based on data collected by the water management districts in 2020, the most recent available. The report card shows that while water quality is improving, widespread seagrass losses are ongoing.
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A bill to open Florida’s seagrass beds to development has a slim chance of passing this legislative session. Environmentalists oppose the bill, arguing it will further deplete manatees’ food source.