I just received an impassioned plea from the Save the Manatee Club. Although it was not put in so many words, it appears that new Florida Governor Rick Scott is leaving an opening for self-interested concerns to downlist the manatee from endangered to threatened, or to even be removed from the protections of the Endangered Species Act altogether, at the federal level, despite the fact that 767 manatees were known to have perished last year, which is more than twice the 5-year average. In the past two years there have been many manatee deaths from boating collisions and from cold stress. We still don't know what effect the oil spill will have on manatees and the ecosystem in which they live. Manatees are only becoming more endangered, and only need more of our help to survive.
The manatee's situation is dire. Speed boating's situation is not dire. Can't we bend to save a species that has made it 60 million years so far?
I had planned to do something later in the summer for manatees, but instead I will start a push to help answer the Save the Manatee plea for assistance right away. If you know me at all you know I can't refuse manatees! Starting tomorrow, 25% of my proceeds will go to Save the Manatee Club. If the listings are on eBay, the listing will show the cause. I will also donate 25% of sales from my Etsy stores and from my website. My goal is to make $500, however long it might take.
Thank you for your help!
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