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Why the Manatees Are Dying

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
J Pat Carter
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

After massive rainfall this summer sent heavily polluted Lake Okeechobee to historic levels, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had to decide whether to risk that the 143-mile dike would hold -- knowing several small communities in the water’s path would be wiped out if it broke -- or devastate several estuaries and their wildlife. As the New York Times reports, the estuaries were sacrificed, including Indian River Lagoon, where manatees are dying. Environmental groups and state officials are alarmed; Gov. Rick Scott has appropriated $130 million to fund two separate projects. 

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.