Save the Manatee Club v. Ballard, 215 F. Supp. 2d 88 (D.D.C. 2002)
Case Summary:
We represented Save the Manatee Club and 17 other conservation organizations in a lawsuit in federal court in Washington to address the greatest immediate threat to the survival of manatees - collisions with power boats in critical manatee habitat. Among other claims, we argued that the US Army Corps of Engineers has ignored the cumulative effects of its permitting decisions on the manatee and its critical habitat. On January 4, 2001, we settled the case with the government agreeing to pursue significant new steps to protect manatees, including by designating refuges and sanctuaries throughout Florida, adopting special rules for minimizing the adverse effects of Corps-permitted projects, and studying the cumulative effects of development activities on manatees and their habitat. In 2002, the Court ruled that the Bush Administration had violated the settlement by failing to create new manatee refuges and sanctuaries throughout peninsula Florida. The Court ordered the Administration to create such protections by November 1, 2002 and the Court also ordered high-ranking officials, including Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, to show cause why they should not be held in contempt. The Interior Department then agreed to adopt new speed limits and other protections in some of the highest mortality areas in the State.
Plaintiffs: Save the Manatee Club, The Humane Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Animal Welfare Institute, International Wildlife Coalition, United States Public Interest Research Group, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Florida Audubon Society, Florida Defenders of the Environment, Audubon Society of Southwest Florida, Responsible Growth Management Coalition, Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, Citizens Association of Bonita Beach, Florida Public Interest Research Group, Biscayne Bay Foundation, Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society, The Pegasus Foundation, and individuals.
Court: United States District Court for the District of Columbia