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A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 9, 2002
In Florida, headlines about manatees are routine. If the lovable sea cows aren't in the news because of their popularity with tourists and wildlife lovers, they're at the center of some controversy or court battle about whether the government is doing enough to protect the ancient and endangered species.
Now the lumbering mammals have been thrust into the spotlight of a major motion picture. But the manatees' participation is involuntary and hazardous, and they have Gov. Jeb Bush to blame for placing them in harm's way.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission initially rejected a request by Columbia Pictures for an "emergency waiver" of the rules that require boaters to observe wake speeds in manatee protection zones. Movie producers needed that rule set aside so they could film high-speed boat chases in Biscayne Bay and the Miami River.
Columbia hired a lobbyist to appeal the case to Bush, claiming their inability to shoot those scenes would put the production of Bad Boys 2 behind schedule, or cause them to choose another location, which could deprive the South Florida economy of millions of dollars. They promised to use numerous lookouts to search for manatees during filming.
As is the norm in Tallahassee, the mere mention of money was enough to turn heads and opinions. The day after the movie's producer met with the governor, Fish and Wildlife reversed its decision and granted the "emergency waiver," circumventing the requirement of public hearings. The director of the agency maintains Bush didn't influence his decision. That's implausible, but even if Bush didn't order the agency's about-face, this much is clear: He didn't use his authority to stop it.
As it turned out, the spotters were necessary. Filming had to stop at least seven times when manatees were spotted.
In the meantime, as cameras rolled in Miami, the plot thickened for manatees in our nation's capital last week.
A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to live up to an agreement it made with several environmental groups that were plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to create more manatee sanctuaries and refuges in Florida. Several of those locations are in the Tampa Bay region. The federal agency had promised to establish the protected areas by last fall, but went into foot-dragging mode after President Bush's brother, Jeb, who is trying to court the boating industry, asked for more time to come up with a satisfactory state-run plan.
The judge ordered U.S. Fish and Wildlife to comply by Nov. 1, and underscored his frustration by threatening to find Interior Secretary Gale Norton in contempt of court.
With the manatees' cool-weather arrival only months away, creating more safe havens must be a priority. The judge's ruling reflects that urgency at a time when Florida is on pace for a record number of boat-related manatee deaths this year.
Given the Bush brothers' apparent indifference to manatee safety, we wonder if the governor and the president might have been better cast in the roles Will Smith and Martin Lawrence play in this comedic action sequel. Call them Bad Boys, Too.