Save the Manatee Club is strongly opposing a newly announced federal rule that rescinds the long-standing definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), arguing the change could weaken protections for manatees and other threatened wildlife by removing habitat destruction from the legal definition.
The final rule, announced July 10 by the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce, eliminates a definition that has been in place for more than 40 years. Historically, the ESA has defined “harm” to include “any significant habitat modification or degradation that kills or injures wildlife.” Conservation advocates say that language has been essential in protecting the habitats species need to survive.
According to Save the Manatee Club Executive Director Patrick Rose, the rule change undermines one of the nation’s most important conservation laws.
“Rescinding the definition of ‘harm’ under the ESA is a debilitating blow to this bedrock conservation law and places manatees’ future in grave peril,” said Rose. “The protections afforded by the ESA are responsible for increasing manatee populations from less than a thousand remaining individuals in the 1960s, largely as the result of habitat loss, to their current numbers.”
Rose noted that while manatee populations have recovered significantly over the past several decades, they continue to face serious threats. He pointed to the 2020–2022 Unusual Mortality Event, during which more than 1,200 manatees died, primarily from starvation linked to pollution-driven seagrass loss in the Indian River Lagoon.
“Manatees still face serious challenges and cannot afford to lose the ESA’s established and essential protections against habitat destruction,” he said.
Dr. Beth Brady, Director of Science and Conservation for Save the Manatee Club, said habitat loss remains the species’ greatest long-term threat.
“The greatest long-term threat to manatees is loss and degradation of essential habitat, especially winter warm-water habitat that manatees require to survive,” Brady said. “Without including safeguards against habitat loss in the definition of ‘harm,’ the ESA will be ill-equipped to address manatees’ most pressing challenges.”
Brady warned that weakening habitat protections could jeopardize critical warm-water winter refuges and seagrass ecosystems that depend on clean water, potentially threatening the species’ continued survival.
The organization’s legal team also raised concerns about the rule’s departure from decades of legal precedent.
Elizabeth Neville, Director of Environmental Law and Policy for Save the Manatee Club, said federal courts have consistently recognized habitat destruction as a form of harm under the ESA.
“For decades, courts have consistently upheld the principle that ‘harm’ to endangered or threatened species encompasses habitat destruction,” Neville said. “Rescinding the definition of ‘harm’ to exclude consideration of habitat destruction betrays vulnerable manatees and the thousands of Americans who care deeply about their protection.”
The organization maintains that removing habitat protections conflicts with Congress’ original intent when the Endangered Species Act was enacted with bipartisan support, recognizing habitat loss as a leading cause of species decline.
Save the Manatee Club is urging federal officials to restore what it describes as the ESA’s proven, science-based conservation framework designed to prevent extinction.
Despite its concerns over the final rule, the organization pointed to two pieces of legislation currently before Congress that it says could strengthen protections for manatees and their habitat. The group is encouraging the public to contact their members of Congress in support of the Protect Gulf Life Act (H.R. 8919) and the Study and Assessment of Future Ecosystems (SAFE) for Manatees Act (H.R. 9590).
Save the Manatee Club says the proposed legislation offers an opportunity to strengthen conservation efforts while addressing the long-term habitat challenges facing Florida’s iconic marine mammals.
