NEW YORK — (NEW YORK) -- Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming the agency has failed to help preserve Florida manatee habitats as the species faces rising deaths.
Nearly 1,100 manatees died in 2021, which is roughly 20% of the east coast population of manatees, according to a lawsuit filed by Save the Manatee Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife.
“That excess nutrient causes algal blooms that were so severe that it shaded out the seagrass that manatees and other species depend on. The seagrass died,” Rose said. When the critical habitat was first established, important components of the habitat, such as the seagrass, were not taken into consideration, Rose said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not respond to an ABC News request for comment on the lawsuit.