Manatees

It's been one year since Jimmy Buffett died, and the environmentalist wrote in his will that his holdings need to be environmentally sound, forever

The water at Manatee Park in Lee County is normally filled with manatees looking for a less frigid refuge in the warm water just down from the Florida Power and Light Power Plant across the street during the cooler months of Southwest Florida's year.

It is Manatee Awareness month in November, poignant in particular in Lee County, which leads Florida with more than 100 sea cow deaths so far this year

Lee County again leads the state in manatee fatalities with 104 reported deaths, more than double any other county in the state, according to a News Service of Florida report.

The fishing pier along the Orange River at Manatee Park, 10901 Palm Beach Blvd., Fort Myers, will close temporarily beginning July 31 for scheduled maintenance.

More manatees have died in Southwest Florida so far this year. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found Lee County leads the state in sea cow deaths with 87

environmental groups have put the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on notice for not adequately protecting the West Indian Manatee

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service wants to delist the wood stork from endangered to threatened, which has Florida conservation groups at odds

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released preliminary numbers Tuesday showing 1,100 of the sea cows perished in the state from causes including boat strikes, cold stress, in flood gates and canal locks, perinatal reasons as well as from natural causes. An FGCU professor says stopping pollution would be one way to help the manatees survive such huge death tolls.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will add to its boater safety course questions about the rules designed to protect manatees, sea turtles and other marine life at risk of injury from watercraft.