Gov. DeSantis awards 30 million dollars to Florida’s Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Centers

Jacksonville — This morning, standing in front of the Jacksonville Zoo Manatee Critical Care and Rehabilitation Center, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the distribution of monies to Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens to support manatees and their habitats. The Jacksonville Zoo is home to the first manatee critical care center in Northeast Florida. The center is large enough to provide temporary housing to up to six injured and distressed manatees until they are well enough to be returned to the wild.

Touting a 17 million dollar increase over the current year’s funding, the governor says the monies will be used to expand a network of acute care facilities like the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens to treat injured and distressed manatees.

“The funding will also support restoration efforts for manatee access to Florida’s warm spring waters, habitat restoration in areas with high manatee populations, manatee rescue and recovery efforts, and pilot projects like the supplemental feeding that FWC (Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) conducted this past winter,” he said.

But the Jacksonville Zoo is not the only recipient of the funds.

“Building on the current funding, Florida’s manatee habitat and restoration projects include the Warm Mineral Springs Project in Sarasota County to improve access for manatees to this warm water habitat; The Bone Fish Cove Environmental Enhancement Project in the Lake Worth Lagoon which will restore manatee habitat including seagrass; and the Blue Spring Manatee Warm Water Habitat Enhancement Project which will protect access to the warm spring waters and stabilize and store the banks of the Spring Run,” said DeSantis.

Other projects include cultivating Seagrass at The Indian River Lagoon; expanding Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) manatee mortality and response efforts; increasing aerial surveys; and additional support for manatee acute care facilities, research, rescue, and conservation activities.

The Governor added that the funding supports 12 positions to expand manatee rescue and response efforts.

To date, more than 50 manatees have been rescued to total 71 manatees recovering in facilities throughout Florida. And in its manatee feeding projects, more than 800 manatees were fed over 200-thousand pounds of lettuce to help curb its alarming mortality rate. DeSantis described the funding as historic.

“This historic funding will support important restoration efforts across the state to benefit our manatees and Florida’s natural environment,” he continued. “My administration will continue working to find new and innovative ways to support our native species, like the manatee, so that the generations to come can experience Florida’s natural resources.

“We are putting our money with our mouth is,” he concluded.

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