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Crist asks FWC to postpone manatee decisions September 11, 2007 Gov. Charlie Crist?s request that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) postpone action on major manatee issues will get serious consideration when the FWC convenes Wednesday morning. "This is important to the governor, so I am going to recommend to the other commissioners that we defer action on these matters,? FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said. "However, we probably will have people who travel to St. Petersburg for the meeting to offer public comments, so we will accommodate them.? Specifically, the FWC?s agenda for the three-day meeting includes adoption of a new management plan for manatees and rule proposals to reclassify the species from endangered to threatened. In a Sept. 10 letter to FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto, Crist applauded the agency?s efforts to implement a strong, thorough management plan for manatees. However, the governor expressed concern about current methods of estimating manatee populations and the record number of manatee deaths in 2006. Crist asked the FWC to postpone the manatee items on the agenda -- to give new commissioners more time to evaluate the complex issue "of such gravity.? Two FWC commissioners will be attending their first FWC meeting and a third commissioner will be attending his second meeting. The FWC has seven commissioners. The FWC meeting will convene at 8:30 a.m. all three days. The complete agenda is available at MyFWC.com under "Commission Meetings.? |
Our mission: Managing fish and wildlife resources for their long-term well-being and the benefit of people.
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