John,

West Indian manatees — including Florida manatees in Florida and Antillean manatees in Puerto Rico — are known for their curious personality and enormous size. In Florida, manatees are dying at an alarming rate. Declining seagrass has led to an ongoing mortality event — almost 20% of the entire Florida population perished in just two years. These gentle giants are starving to death.

The good news: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently proposed to protect nearly 2 million acres of critical habitat for manatees under the Endangered Species Act. If the proposal is finalized, the Act's safeguards will ensure that manatees will have warm, safe places to swim and eat seagrass for generations to come.

But the proposal leaves important waterways unprotected.

Tell the Service to protect all the critical areas manatees need to recover — as soon as possible.