The Trump administration’s government-wide staff cuts threaten federally protected manatees in a Florida national wildlife refuge established for the purpose of safeguarding the beloved sea cows, according to a new legal filing from the Center for Biological Diversity.
The administration is accused of imperiling the manatees by failing to adequately staff the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, situated 80 miles north of Tampa, provides essential winter habitat for some 20 percent of the state’s population, according to a 60-day notice of intent to sue the advocacy group filed Friday.
The refuge was chronically understaffed before the Trump administration in February dismissed two of the eight employees tasked with managing five national wildlife refuges along Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Crystal River, according to the legal filing. The fired employees were reinstated under a court order, but the document argues the administration’s commitment to more cuts represents an ongoing threat to the manatees.
“It’s clear that the administration’s goal is to further reduce the workforce,” said Ragan Whitlock, staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We are taking a stand now to make clear that that is unacceptable, that any attacks on federal employees are also attacks on the species and habitats they are directed to preserve.”
The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge is known for its boat tours, provided by outside operators under permit, that offer an opportunity to swim with the manatees. The tours, while popular, have stressed the animals, as unscrupulous swimmers have grabbed, walked on and ridden the manatees, even separating a mother from her calf, according to the legal filing. The harassment prompted then-manager Michael Lusk to call on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2014 to close the springs within the refuge while manatees were present, until resources could be found to ensure the animals’ safety.
The legal filing argues the refuge already lacks the staff to effectively manage the commercial boat tour operators along with thousands of visitors who converge on the preserve every winter to see the cold-sensitive manatees, which rely on the springs for warmth. The document suggests the refuge’s importance is poised to grow as power companies transition away from fossil fuels in order to combat climate change, diminishing the artificially warm waters around power plants that manatees rely on during the winter.
The legal filing calls on the Trump administration to hire more staff at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge or restrict activities at the refuge until it can be adequately staffed. It names as defendants Doug Burgum, secretary of the Department of the Interior; Paul Souza, acting director of the Fish and Wildlife Service; and Amy Gleason, acting administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency. The Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment on pending litigation.
“President Trump has the authority to manage personnel within the executive branch. The President prioritizes both economic and environmental stewardship, ensuring the Florida manatees are healthy while effectively using taxpayer dollars,” said Taylor Rogers, White House assistant press secretary, in a statement provided to Inside Climate News. “The Unusual Mortality Event from starvation due to seagrass loss affecting manatees along Florida’s East Coast was administratively closed in March.”
The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, which was downlisted from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2017, sparking widespread outcry. The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed in January listing each manatee subspecies separately, with the Florida manatee retaining its threatened status and the Antillean manatee, which lives farther south in the Caribbean, regaining its endangered listing.
Nearly 2,000 manatees died in Florida in 2021 and 2022, a two-year record. The calamity was related to water quality problems. Manatees also are vulnerable to boat strikes, entanglement in fishing gear and ingestion of marine debris.
This story was updated on June 3 to include comments from the White House.
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Amy Green covers the environment and climate change from Orlando, Florida. She is a mid-career journalist and author whose extensive reporting on the Everglades is featured in the book MOVING WATER, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, and podcast DRAINED, available wherever you get your podcasts. Amy’s work has been recognized with many awards, including a prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award and Public Media Journalists Association award.
