Florida wildlife officials are reviewing manatee protection zones in Collier County’s waterways. They’re asking for the public’s input. It’s the first of more manatee assessments to come in the state. Some of these areas have not been looked at since the 1990s.
Collier County has between 50 and 70 manatees. Some of the sea cows’ waters are protected by the state in parts of Naples, Marco Island, the Ten Thousand Islands and more. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held a public meeting this week where locals asked questions and gave suggestions about the manatee zones. Scott Calleson of FWC said the commission plans to do the same for other counties in the future.
"We want to periodically go back through and look at those zones to determine whether anything needs to be changed and given that these zones have been in there for a number of decades and they haven’t been looked at recently," said Calleson.
About 20 people came to the open meeting in Collier. Calleson said many of the attendees wanted protections for the Moorings Bay area of Naples, which has none right now. He said people can still submit comments through mail or email. Calleson anticipates presenting the final assessment before the state wildlife commission in the fall. He said this evaluation is not related to the recent suggestion by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to down grade the Florida manatee from “endangered” to “threatened.”
