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VOL 24 No. 8
October 18, 2023
Sun shines forth after eclipse ANNE YARBROUGH | SUN
From left, Lumi Welch, Sonny Howle and Williabel Welch observe the partial solar eclipse through NASA-approved safety glasses during a Solar Eclipse Watch Party at Robinson Preserve on Oct. 14. Suncoast Stargazers provided the glasses to safely observe the celestial event, as well as special viewing scopes, including a Hydrogen Alpha solar telescope, to get an extra detailed view of the sun’s surface. Inset, the partial eclipse as seen through a solar filter.
Manatees could again be classified as endangered Environmental groups have petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to increase protection for manatees, which lost about 20% of their population in 2021-22. BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
MANATEE COUNTY – Following petitions from environmental groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) says that reclassifying Florida manatees from a threatened to an endangered species may be justified. In 2017, the status of manatees was changed from endangered to threatened following signs the species was recovering. Since then, seagrass destruction related to algae blooms
on Florida’s east coast has spiked manatee mortality. “Originally listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, manatees have never truly recovered,” according to a prepared statement from the Center for Biological Diversity. “The FWS announced its final rule downlisting the West Indian manatee from endangered to threatened on March 30, 2017, despite hundreds of manatees still dying each year from boat strikes, habitat loss and other causes.” The ESA defines a threatened species as "any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range." An endangered species is "any species which is in danger of extinction
SEE MANATEES, PAGE 11
Commissioners discuss eroding wetlands protections BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH – Despite the recent Manatee County Commission vote to reduce wetland buffers, a city building official says it won’t be as easy as putting a shovel in the ground to build near wetlands. Holmes Beach commissioners met on Oct. 10 to discuss the reduction in wetland buffers as part of a larger discussion on building standards and state legislative priorities. Building Official Neal Schwartz kicked off the conversation by noting that just because the size of the protective buffer zones has been reduced by the county to lesser state levels, it doesn’t mean people can start building in wetland areas. In Anna Maria Island’s largest city, he said that before any building near
FALL WEDDINGS,
Anna Maria Island style. 20-21
SEE COMMISSIONERS, PAGE 16
FIRST INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER POND CLOSED at Piney Point. 4 FARMERS MARKET at City Pier Park
back for the season. 9
Page 27 Anna Maria Island, Florida
wetlands can begin, plans must first be approved by the city. In addition, he said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection also would have to approve the plans. “Even though it’s allowed to be built on, it’s the Department of Environmental Protection that’s going to give us our final say so,” Schwartz said. Because of the work that city leaders have done to help protect wetlands and reduce the flood risk to properties, he said the city is now rated a FEMA category five and should receive that flood plain designation within the next two months. Property owners can contact their flood insurance companies to get an added discount on their policies that he said could be retroactive to the date the designation was awarded. Once he
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