Duval & Clay Co sue over manatee zones

[northfla_hunter]

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/030204/met_14966919.shtml

10 manatees killed in the past 25 years in the clay county section?? all this fuss and restrictive zones to save 1 manatee every 2.5 years?? :mad: youve gotta be kidding me!

[DUCKWHACKER]

I have a question. Since their called West Indian manatees, are they really even native to Florida? We don't protect English sparrows or starlings, Brazilian pepper or Austrailian pines. So why the West Indian manatee? Just a thought;)

[Steve W]

The name is misleading as they are considered a native species having inhabitied FLA for thousands of years.

Anyway, the USFWS would not be in this position if they had listed to reason at the so-called public input hearings last year.

Many city/county officials spoke at the meeting only to have their say fall on deaf ears.

I am sure they had their documents already typed up before the meeting and all they had to add was rebuttals to any written disagreements with the proposal.

So they have been sued by SMC to implement the zones and now they will be sued to remove some of them.

The area in question is a highly traveled boating and shipping lane. It is wide, deep and has a very strong current with no food source, only rocks, mud and oysters. If you have ever been through Jacksonville via I-95, then you know what I am referring too.

Of course, this area is in the area of next year's Super Bowl so telling people to drive slow for 10 miles is not very attractive.

[DUCKWHACKER]

Too bad the Coast Guard doesn't take the "wet foot-dry foot" stance. That way any manatee found still in the water could be deported back to the West Indies, therefore eliminating the controversy.
It's surprising that boating/fishing don't hold the upper hand in this case, as usually the group who spends the most money has things slanted in their favor. Maybe a "manatee viewing license" is on the horizon:D ?