The public overwhelmingly supports protections for endangered species. Yet the Bush administration—in its pernicious kowtowing to business interests—continues to do whatever it can to chip away at such protections, showing as little regard for species such as the manatee as it generally does for humanity. Such actions, as that noted in the following Washington Post report, are beneath contempt:

Manatees’ Status May Change

MIAMI — The Florida manatee, this state’s imperiled environmental icon, in 2006 suffered its most dismal year on record.

Of a population of about 3,200, 416 died in 2006, the highest number of deaths recorded in 30 years of statistics. Many died in collisions with boat propellers.

Now, according to an internal memo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been drafting plans under which the celebrated marine mammals would lose their protection as an endangered species.

The planned reclassification of the slow-moving sea cows from “endangered” to “threatened” is expected to elicit criticism from environmental groups that see it as part of the Bush administration’s effort to poke holes in the Endangered Species Act.

The new designation would make it easier to loosen boating speed limits and restrictions on waterfront development that have been instituted to make Florida safer for the species, environmental leaders said.

“This is absolutely the wrong time to down-list manatees,” said Patrick Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club and an aquatic biologist who served as the first federal manatee coordinator. “The terrible thing is, while the last year for manatees was bad, the future could be even worse.” [full text]

For more information on manatees and ways in which you can take action to help save these gentle creatures, please contact the Save the Manatee Club.