Articles

PLF Victory! Feds finally follow the law and reclassify manatee

March 30, 2017 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the final rule to downlist the manatee from endangered to threatened. This comes in response to a nearly five-year battle with PLF to get the federal government to follow its own experts’ advice and the law, and downlist the manatee. But the roots of today’s decision go … ...

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Manatee count shows population continues to grow

February 20, 2017 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) gave cause to celebrate: the manatee population continues to grow in Florida, according to agency’s newest survey results. The FWC today announced it counted 6,620 manatees in its annual survey. Last year the FWC counted 6,250 and in 2015 it counted 6,063 manatees. The FWC conducts the manatee ...

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Federal agency flouts Endangered Species Act again

January 09, 2017 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

Today, PLF sent a warning to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that unless the agency adopts its proposed rule to reclassify the manatee within 60-days, PLF will sue on behalf of Save Crystal River, Inc., to compel downlisting the status of the species from endangered to threatened. It is disappointing, but not surprising that … ...

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Manatee count shows population continues to grow

February 25, 2016 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

The manatee population continues to grow in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s newest survey results. Each winter, when weather conditions permit, the FWC conducts an aerial survey with a team of observers who fly around the state’s warmer waters where manatees typically congregate. Last year, the FWC count ...

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PLF victory! Feds finally act on manatee petition

January 07, 2016 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

It’s taken eight years and two lawsuits to get the government to follow up on its own experts’ recommendation to reclassify the manatee from “endangered” to “threatened.” Today, in response to a PLF Atlantic Center lawsuit on behalf of Save Crystal River, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it is fo ...

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PLF ends year in the papers and on a high note

December 30, 2015 | By MARK MILLER

Florida Today reports on its front page this morning that the federal government intends to downlist the manatee from endangered to threatened in the coming year. The report prominently features Pacific Legal Foundation and its role in pushing the feds to follow the law. Reporter Jim Waymer explains: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expects ...

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FWC amends proposed regulations after PLF files challenge

November 20, 2015 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

In August, PLF filed a petition against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) on behalf of William Thomas, claiming that the FWC was stepping beyond its statutory authority with its proposal to severely limit boat speeds in two Pinellas County water basins. Thomas, a retiree and boating enthusiast, lives in Indian Rocks Beach ...

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PLF sues feds for stalling, again, on manatee petition

September 25, 2015 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

It’s been three years since PLF filed a petition on behalf of Save Crystal River to downlist the manatee from “endangered” to “threatened.” Yet the government has continued to ignore the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, forcing us to again file a lawsuit to compel action. Our petition asked the government to ...

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President's weekly report — August 14, 2015

August 14, 2015 | By ROB RIVETT

The more you own the more government can steal? We filed this petition for writ of certiorari in in Murr v. Wisconsin.  William Murr and his wife bought two contiguous lots along the Lake St. Croix waterfront on separate dates in 1959.  The first was titled in the family plumbing business and the Murrs built a 950 square foot home … ...