The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced
the completion of their five-year status review of the West Indian
manatee and made a staff recommendation to reclassify the West Indian
manatee from the top level “endangered” to
a slightly lower level of “threatened.” This species has
been federally listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
as “endangered” for
the last 40 years.
Having reviewed the current data, the
Service stated that this manatee no longer fits the ESA definition
of endangered. The ESA defines “endangered” as “in
danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion
of its range” and “threatened” is
defined as “is likely to become an endangered species within the
foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion
of its range.”
This is a positive trend for manatees. According
to Dave Hankla, field supervisor for the Service’s Jacksonville
FL office, “This
is an opportunity for all of our manatee partners to celebrate
a conservation success milestone.” It will not change the level
of protection afforded to the animals.
Before this change
may occur, a formal rulemaking process is required, allowing
for public comment. At press time, the comment period had not been set.
© BoatU.S. Magazine - September 2007
Additional Information: The
Service’s Manatee Five-Year
Review is available online at http://www.fws.gov/northflorida or
may be requested by e-mail to manatee@fws.gov
