rescues, where stricken manatees are
captured and taken to places like the Sea
World manatee rehab center, where they
are nursed back to health. But there are
only a few manatee rescue centers in the
state and most are at capacity.
Attempts are being made to restore the
lagoon’s water quality, but those are
long-term solutions. Brevard County has
a special sales tax to generate money for
lagoon cleanup. That tax will generate
more than $400 million over 10 years.
Duane de Freese, executive director
at the Indian River Lagoon National
Estuary Program, says it will really take
billions of dollars to do the work right.
Brevard’s problems are caused by rapid
population growth, causing more storm
water runoff, septic systems leaks and
fertilizer runoff.
In the southern lagoon, the water quality
is impacted by discharges from Lake
Okeechobee. The State of Florida, the
Army Corps of Engineers and the South
Florida Water Management District have
$2 billion to clean up the lake and the
discharge, but they’ve been at it for
four years without significant water
quality improvement.
26: SPACE COAST LIVING | SPACECOASTLIVING.COM
SAVE THE MANATEE CLUB
Patrick Rose, executive director of Save The Manatee Club,
says more food sources need to be found.
SAVE THE MANATEE CLUB
A healthy manatee and calf at Blue Springs State Park, one of the largest winter gathering sites for manatees
in Florida, thrive in the constant 72-degree spring water in the colder winter months.
There have been large manatee dieoffs
before, but not from starvation. In
2010, 480 manatees died in the lagoon
because of an especially cold winter.
This time around, the cause of the
manatee’s plight is much more complex
and long-term. Scientists and experts
are bracing for continuing bad news.
KATHY JONES
Manatees also like to gather at Three Sisters Springs, which is part of the Crystal River system that
originates in Kings Bay, a first-magnitude spring flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.
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