The lovable sea manatee is no longer an "endangered" species. It is now just merely "threatened." No, wait, that's not the good news. This is actually pretty bad. Seems some Bush flunkies ignored the public outcry and downgraded the manatee. In this case the flunkies are the seven members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, all appointed by the other Bush - Governor Jeb. They voted unanimously for the downgrade at their regular quarterly meeting on June 7.
So far, the only ones rejoicing over the panel's decision are waterfront developers, marina builders and representatives of the marine industry, who or (sic) five years have been waging an expensive political campaign to get the manatee "downlisted.''
They were miffed by strict rules imposed in some places while manatees were on the state's endangered list. Speed zones were established that inconvenienced fishermen and weekend boaters, while restrictions were imposed on permits for new docks and marinas in certain areas.
As adorable as they might be, the sea cows had become a nuisance. They were getting in the way of big plans by people with big bucks.
The more slips that you can cram into a marina, the fatter your profit margins. And the larger the marina is, the more boats will be sold to fill it.
Everybody makes out dandy except for the near-sighted manatees, which tend to gather and breed in the same quiet waters along which developers like to build their projects.
Restrictions will remain in place until the state comes up with a management plan, and the manatee remains on the federal endangered species list, but Hiaasen notes that "the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is under pressure from members of Congress who are shilling for the same special interests that prevailed in Florida."
Now, the good news. I'm no fan of President 29%, but I believe in giving credit where credit is due. After over five years in office, finally something to give credit for. According to today's NY Times, "Bush Plans Vast Protected Sea Area in Hawaii."
President Bush will create the world's largest protected marine area today, designating as a national monument a 1,200-mile-long chain of small Hawaiian islands and surrounding waters and reefs that are home to a spectacular array of sea life, senior administration officials said last night.
In his second use of the 100-year old National Antiquities Act, which empowers the president to protect important cultural or geological resources instantly, Mr. Bush will enact a suite of strict rules for the area, including a five-year phasing out of commercial and sport fishing, officials said.
The chain of largely uninhabited atolls, seamounts, reefs and shoals, which sweeps northwest from the big islands of Hawaii, is called the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and is home to some 7,000 species of marine life, including endangered green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals and millions of breeding seabirds.
Earlier yesterday, the region, which at 140,000 square miles is nearly the size of California, was to have been named a national marine sanctuary, a different kind of protection that could have taken a year to enact.
But Mr. Bush, in a last meeting to consider the plan and timetable, decided to cut things short, said a senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to take attention away from Mr. Bush's public statement today. "He said, Look, I've got this authority, I'm going to use it," the official said.
"What we avoid is another year or more in process when we already have consensus," he said, noting that national-monument status avoided the prospect of lawsuits over proposed sanctuary regulations. Since the Clinton administration, environmental campaigners had pushed for marine sanctuary status for the area, and as recently as early last night they were girding for months of public debate over the proposed sanctuary rules with a few groups representing Pacific fish-processing companies and fishing fleets.
Environmental groups are ecstatic over the sudden turnaround which is said to have been caused by a documentary film that Jean-Michel Cousteau screened at the White House in April. Now if only Bush would take Al Gore up on his offer to screen his little global warming film...
