Endangered Species - Environment Florida

What's New

The Florida manatee is a treasured and iconic symbol of natural Florida. Unfortunately, threats to the Florida manatee from habitat destruction and watercraft collisions are on the rise.

Recently, Gov. Crist vetoed legislation (HB 7059) that would have threatened protection for seagrasses, which are critically important food sources for our endangered manatees. A coalition of conservation groups, including Environment Florida, wrote a letter to Gov. Crist, urging him to veto the bill, and we applauded the governor for doing the right thing.

As he noted in his veto letter, provisions in the bill could have also allowed the destruction of cypress forests along rivers and lakes, salt marshes along tidal streams and estuaries, mangrove forests along the coast, and coral reefs.

Take action

The Endangered Species Act is one of our must successful and valuable environmental laws. For more than 30 years, the Endangered Species Act has served as a safety net for wildlife, fish and plants on the brink of extinction. In that time, the Act has a near perfect record of protecting hundreds of species from extinction, including the bald eagle, Florida panther, the manatee and many more.

In order to protect species from extinction, we must maintain a strong and effective Endangered Species Act. (Click here for more on why we need a strong Endangered Species Act.)

That is why Environment Florida is working to make sure that Florida's elected officials enforce the Endangered Species Act and stop any attempts to weaken or undermine the necessary protections the Act provides for our state’s imperiled wildlife.

RESOURCES

Why we need a strong Endangered Species Act How The Endangered Species Act Works