After a 17-year-run, one of Florida's most popular specialty license plates is getting a new look. ...more

December 20, 2007

EVERGLADES CITY - The Everglades are among America's most famous swamps, with a reputation for mosquitos to match. ...more

December 16, 2007

Florida's manatees are protected for now, thanks to Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. ...more

December 11, 2007

Manatees will continue to get the highest level of protection that Florida affords an imperiled species, thanks in part to Gov. Charlie Crist and thousands of letters and e-mail messages he received from manatee lovers. ...more

December 6, 2007

KEY LARGO - Manatees will continue to get the highest level of protection that Florida affords an imperiled species, thanks in part to Gov. Charlie Crist and thousands of letters and e-mails he received from manatee lovers. ...more

December 5, 2007

By any objective account, the outlook for Florida's manatees is shaky. Scientists divide the state manatee populations into four regions and in two of those regions - including the one that covers Tampa Bay - the marine mammal's survival rates are not sufficient to sustain its numbers. ...more

December 5, 2007

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meets today in Key Largo to review a contentious change in status for the Florida manatee, ruling on an issue that was delayed by an unprecedented intercession by Gov. Charlie Crist. The commission planned to handle downlisting manatees from endangered to threatened in September, but bowed to Crist's call for further review after much arm-twisting by the Save the Manatee Club. ...more

December 5, 2007

Once again manatees face a critical vote that will decide whether they receive the highest protective status available under Florida law. ...more

December 4, 2007

By nearly all accounts, Florida's manatee population has made an amazing recovery in the past 30 years. The state once estimated that only 600 to 800 remained, while today the fewest that have been counted during recent winters is 3,100. It's likely the total is much higher, because the warm winters recently have not concentrated the animals in areas where they can be counted readily. ...more

November 30, 2007

In September this year, the IUCN World Conservation Union (IUCN) officially declared the Florida manatee endangered using exactly the same criteria state officials are attempting to use to justify downgrading the manatee's status from Endangered to Threatened. After a scientific status review at the international level, the Florida manatee was declared Endangered on the Red List, which is recognized as the most reliable evaluation of the world's species. The manatee's status evaluation was conducted and also reviewed by some of the world's most qualified sirenian scientists who based their recommendation for listing as Endangered on the most recent scientific data. ...more

November 23, 2007