Manatee update, their status is DOWNGRADED
 

We are beginning to see the TRUE facts coming to the surface.

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryA32097A.htm

I bet the $TM club is in a uproar over this! There goes their pack of lies, along with their CA$H COW, pun intended!
Man, do I feel good today!
MD

Yep, here's what the $TM Club's response is

http://www.savethemanatee.org/newsstillendangered.htm

They are beginning to panic! Maybe they should turn their efforts towards all the starving/abused childern in the US! Something based on fact, and not lies!
MD

:D

Thanks Dean. Great news! Here's what I wrote them...

Dear Manatee Fanatic,

I ask you quite frankly, "When will it end?..." When will the SMC be satisfied?

You strive to meet you goals, you act to protect the manatee, you enact silly manatee protection zones which are more often than not based not on evidence and facts but emotional drama and politics. Yet, what is your goal? To increase the population or justify your existance? Isn't the final goal to bring the population to self-sustaining levels and then stop interfering?

It seems that you are your worst adversary. I say this because you target not true threats like powerplants, but boats. Boats contribute only a small portion of deaths and furthermore most of those boat deaths are caused by the larger commercial fleets out on the waters. Ironically, those commercial vessels are exempt from your slow zones! Where's the science there?

To the majority of the population who have not yet been seduced into believing false information by the SMC and other such organizations, it appears that your objectives are continually being met. The manatee population is soaring and has done so for more than a decade now.

Claims of "record-breaking deaths" mean absolutely nothing. Any grade schooler can deduce that when a population increases and a controled event is common to that population(i.e. deaths) based on a percentage, it would lend itself to reason that such an event will increase along with the sheer number of specimens. You spin your facts in any number of ways to make it attractive to the SMC's self-preservation tactics...

The time has come when far too many people are beginning to realize that it is you, the SMC, that is exploiting the Manatee for your continued funding and cash flow. It's not supposed to be about the politics and money, it's about manatees, remember?

It seems the goals are being met! The species will soon be downgraded from Endangered to Threatened?? Why is the SMC in such an uproar over what should be an exciting milestone in your mission? You've accomplished what it is that you set out to do. The population is increasing and is healthy. It is the SMC that should be "rejoicing" and not opposing this change.

I like their quote "And don't forget that a new record for manatees being killed by boats is being set nearly every week."

For some reason they did not want to back this statment up with facts.

You would think they would be happy that that the population is going up, not down.

Precisely, why is it that they are upset anytime something good happens? Isn't this what the objective is? :confused:

Manatee, The other red meat.:)

I hope the US Fish and Wildlife service recognizes this. They have closed down a popular boating, fishing and swimming area in Homosassa.

BD,
Well said! The $MC has totally lost focus as to what their purpose is suppose to be. They see their jobs coming to an end and they are SCARED! They continuely skew the FACTS and spew disinformation to stay employed!
Fact, when I moved to Brevard Co. in 1990, the $TM were stating how bad the powerplant discharges were for the Manatees, and they were correct!
NOW, 10-12 years later they state that the powerplant discharges are NEEDED for the Manatee! Even thought the ESA states that any man made interference to an Endangered Speices's NATURAL MIGRATORY pattern is ILLEGAL!! THE $TM came to the conclusion that the power plant discharges allow the Manatee to ARTIFICALLY expand it's natural/normal habitat, which means more Manatees! This approach is severely FLAWED in that Manatees were NEVER this far north ,(Central/Northern Fl.)before in the Winter time. This in itself, is really bad for the Manatee, it causes inbreeding, cold water calf mortalities, intestinal dieseases in the Manatees because of SOO many Manatees are concentrated in a very small area in which they swim and eat each other's feces!! Not to mention the stink and HIGH bacteria count!! BUT the $TM club thinks this is good for the Manatee, not to mention the complete ELIMINATION of all the seagrass beds for MILES around these powerplants discharges!
Sorry, didn't mean to climb onto my soapbox!
Bottom line, the $TM CLub has become the Manatee's WORST enemy!
MD

Nick...great email....my thoughts exactly...

I liken this to all the water snakes here at LOTO that are hit by boats every year..should we have a Save the Snake Club????
Is that the real reason for that rediculous no wake zone??? Should we have Snake Protection zones???? In Party Cove, should we not be allowed to even idle cause a snake could get chopped up??? No, Phknlawyer, no joke hidden there! :) (just kidding!)

Oh, and Florida Gator, I like mine with a nice Chiante', sugar snap peas, and garlic bread.

WM

Dean, I've read that as well...something about the warm waters gives them a place to congregate in cool weather??? So, when it comes to manatee populations increasing, how the hell do they, well...you know...do it??

H2O Moose,
Just the thought of "How do they do it" makes me sick!
MD:D

This is what additional zones the $TM club is rquesting, ON TOP of what the FFWCC and USFWS have ALREADY implemented this year!!!!

As we have seen in Brevard County, Save the Manatee Club will not stop until all motorboat traffic in Florida is either totally regulated, severely reduced, or eliminated altogether. With the ink on the Settlement agreement with the State of Florida barely dry, the club is aggressively going County by County to fill in the gaps left by settlement language.


If the above scenario doesn¹t convince you, please note the following areas also mentioned in this same memo:

Jacksonville _ Reddie Point to Fuller Warren Bridge
Duval County _ the St. John¹s River
Duval County _ Goodby¹s Creek
Volusia County _ Tomoka River
Brevard County _ Banana River, Canaveral Sewer, Indian River, Railroad Bridge SE side of Causeway, Haulover Canal Observation area, Haulover Canal
Palm Beach _ Riviera Beach FPL Plant, ICW
Manatee County _ Braden River/manatee River
Lee County _ Bokeelia Point, Charlotte Harbor, Southern portion of San Carlos Bay, Caloosahatchee River, Mullock Creek / Ten Mile Canal, Estero Bay
Collier County _ Everglades National Park, Ten Thousand Islands, Fakaunion Canal, Chokoloskee Bay


MD:mad:

Great news for us, but now the STMC will go after the lawmakers to change the criteria for endangered vs. threatened.

They said, and I quote;
"The findings of the FWCC should serve as a warning that we must reduce human-related manatee mortality and other negetive impacts to manatees and their habitat".

We know that they stay in the area because the discharge water from the power plants is warm all year round. Mantees will not migrate to warmer water because of this. What the power companies need to do is mix the discharge water with cool water to reduce the temperature to ambient water temp. This includes winter time too. The water temp in winter drops low enough to force the manatees to migrate to warmer water. By reducing the discharge temp to seasonal ambient they will move on in place of moving in.
How hard could that be?
These waters are not part of their natural habitat. If we could reduce the water temp they will move south and possibly stay there or reduce the number that does come back.

Just my .02 worth.

Iggy,
There is a Fl. state law that requires all powerplants to maintain a discharge water temp of 68 Deg. or HIGHER if the ambient water temperature drops below 68 Deg. This is a STATE law!, and BTW, if you own FPL stock, the additional $$ it takes to heat this water to 68 Deg. in the winter time comes out of overhead, i.e. reduced profits and shareholder dividends!
How ridiculous is that?
MD:mad:

1) it's rediculous to have to "warm up" the water to 68* when it's undoubtedly lower in winter. Bet the STMC had someting to do with that. Just another way for them to keep their jobs.
2) the money spent to warm it up, as stupid as it is, should come from their pockets and not tacked on to everyones bill.

I lived in Jersey when Three Mile Island had their little accident. Our power company (Jersey Central Power and Light, JCP&L)was part of the conglomerate that owned those nuke plants. They tried to devide the cost of clean-up and repair between all the customers. Uncle Sam stepped in and said "Oh, no your not". Good thing too, we were already paying more for power than anyone else in the North East except New York City.
JCP&L also owned a nuke plant in central Jeresy, Oyster Creek, and every time it went down for maintenence or repair our bill went up to pay for it. Problem was not one watt of its power came to our houses. They sold it to other states while we paid for the upkeep.

Iggy,
I agree, this $TM club lobbing behind the scenes. That is also why FPL has sided with $TM club in our ongoing lawsuit, it's a mutual/benefial arrangement for FPL to have the $TM club blame ALL of the Manatee VESSEL related deaths on recreational boaters, and NOT on FPL BARGES and TUGS that deliver the fuel oil to the powerplants. It's amazing how the Manatees are smart enough to get out of the way of a Tug/Barge, which they can't see or hear, but the Manatee isn't smart/fast enough to get out of the way of recreational boater!?
MD

Congratulations Dean. I know you and others have worked long and hard just to get them to take an unbiased look at the situation. Hope things continue to take a more open and reasonable path.

-Greg

i think the stm is full of it and counts of the manatee are biased and fixed to suit them. i also agree about the harm powerplantrs are doing to them for migration. i live in savannah ga and we saw a manatee here over the summer. how is that a mammal known to habitat in the warm s/ florida waters is way up here?? if i saw one, i know there are more and that has to be from powerplants extending their range! how are they going to do up here in a few months??? talk about endangering a species, just lure em up here where the winter can take care of em!!

Someone here, don't remember who, said the there's one that pops up in Virginia each summer. Now that's quite a distance.

DEAN - Are you aware that as a 501(c)3 organization the STM tax return is a matter of publice record & available to all that wish to review it through the Freedom of Information Act?

I would be curious to see what the executive directors compensation is.... and if they are actually using an appropriate percentage of contributions for the benefit which the IRS allowed them to be tax free? That return could reveal alot of information that contributors might take exception too....

Just a thought... maybe its time to play Offense with this group instead of Defense.... since, as you said, they appear on the defensive!

Continued Good Luck....

Now there's a step in the right direction.

Congratulations Dean, I know you have worked hard

Thanks guys, I/we really haven't done as much as a bunch of other folks here in Fl. have done, Mainly the board members of CFW
www.cfwbrevard.org

These guys have put their personnel lives on hold to take on the $TM club, FFWCC and the USFWS! The wife and I have donated over $500 for the legal defense funds, and written alot of E-mails and attended all the public input workshops we manage to make.
It is beginning to have an effect, and I hope all the other powerboaters here on OSO take notice that, you too, can make your voice heard over the FEW special interest groups, IF you get organized, focused and put forth money and time.
The $TM Club, the Sierra Club, etc. are WELL FUNDED and organized in their missions. We have match that effort, if we are to be successful.
MD:cool:

GRH,
I will look into that,
Thanks for the insight
MD

Iggy,
Thanks, it's corrected
MD

Dean, there's something rong with your link, it sends us to The Chicago Foundation for Women. :D :D
Better check your address list.

I already have the3 cfw saved. I check them out regularly.

:D :D

Baja Daze hit the nail on the head. All bureaucracies main purpose is to expand and perpetute their existance. They get the most aggresive when they know they are irrelevant.

Sydwayz!! LMAO!:D :D :D :D

This what our local, liberal, POS newspaper has to say about this.
Man, do I hate that paper.

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/opedstoryA32176A.htm

TGIF,
MD