U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Broadens Florida Manatee Protections in Kings Bay

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today an emergency rulemaking to expand federal protection areas for manatees in Citrus County, Florida, creating a refuge that includes all of Kings Bay in Crystal River. The manatee refuge goes into effect November 15, 2010, and includes all waters of Kings Bay, including all tributaries and adjoining water bodies upstream of the confluence of Kings Bay and Crystal River.

Established under the emergency rule provision of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Kings Bay manatee refuge provides the Service with management options to immediately address the needs of the increasing number of manatees using the warm water springs in Kings Bay. These new provisions will provide greater access for manatees to critical warm water areas during the winter months and address public concerns associated with local, wintertime manatee viewing activities.