US wildlife officials decide on manatee status petition
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Federal wildlife officials will announce their decision on a petition to reclassify Florida's iconic manatees as "threatened" instead of "endangered."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon in Miami to discuss its review of the manatee's status.
A Florida business group and the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation petitioned the government in 2012 to reclassify the manatee, citing a 2007 federal review that recommended listing the species as threatened because the population is recovering.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida's manatee population has grown from several hundred in 1967 to more than 6,000 counted last year in an annual statewide survey.
A listing as a "threatened" species would allow some flexibility for federal officials but maintain most of the protections afforded to animals listed as endangered.