How to Grow A Manatee Activist
By Katrina Fotovat
According to Webster’s Dictionary, an activist is "one who favors vigorous or direct action." On March 3, 1998, I had the opportunity to meet with a bright and budding activist. Sarah Hammermeister, a volunteer with Manatee Park and the Lee County Parks and Recreation Department, is that activist. Our meeting took place at Manatee Park in Buckingham, Florida. The sun was shining brightly as I proceeded to our proscribed meeting spot. There I saw a young woman with an old manatee skull explaining to a group of young school children the process by which manatees continually lose their teeth. I stood there in amazement at the way she captured their attention and related the manatee to them.
Realizing that I had stumbled upon the Doogie Howser of Florida’s manatee protection team, I was deeply inspired and moved. As I introduced myself, we began to walk by the water. "Be very careful on the rocks" was all the information she gave me as to our destination. Before I knew it, she had opened the gate between the water and the park and we were down on the rock peninsula--Right next to he manatees! It was incredible; I was standing only a few feet from a mother and her calf. We stood there and observed the group of about fifteen manatees playing and rolling around in the warm waters.
Sara’s passion began around age 5 when she "was out on a boat and saw a large gray head pop out of the water. From then on I was fascinated." The primary influence in her views on the environment was from her family and their appreciation of the environment. Though she has lived in Florida throughout her life and attended area public schools, Sara feels that the environmental education in the state is lacking in its depth and emphasis on the importance of habitat--not only on wildlife, but also on the human population.
The catalyst for her research work began at Edison Community College in her Biology class, when she did a report on the impact of red tide on the manatee. This project put her in contact with Tom Pickford, a biologist with the State Environmental Protection Agency, and the primary manatee specialist in South West Florida. Her current course work in the honor’s program at the college has focused her attention upon collecting data and identifying individual manatees through scar pattern identification and to get sense of the history of each animal. Over ninety percent of the manatees have human-caused scars. This meticulous process involves observation of over five hundred manatees in the open water and near the shore, through three picture perspectives: back, under side, and tail. This data will be turned into the state as official population data to be compiled for state assessment.
Her volunteer (that means no money!) hours range from 60 hours a month, on top of her full-time schoolwork. This display of dedication and commitment accentuates her activist spirit. "I hope that we can preserve this species for other generations to come."
The knowledge and passion she has for these animals is purposefully contagious. She appreciates the Florida lifestyle but feels that "those people living in Florida should want to be informed, even on just the simple facts about manatees and the Florida environment. People are required by law to take a boating course. Nowadays, they should be required in those courses to have at least a brief awareness of the manatees and our impacts on them. People need to know that if they d accidentally hit a manatee that they should report it to the proper authorities. They won’t get in trouble if it’s an accident. Ignorance is the number one problem facing the manatee population."
According to Sarah, the Florida Manatee is an endangered species with an overall population in North America of about two thousand The greatest threat to the manatee is human beings and their impact on the environment. Habitat loss is the primary reason for the depletion of the manatee. The ecological impact of land development, pollution and general recreation human carelessness has jeopardized the future of the manatee. The manatee continues at critical levels and is in desperate need of more legislation and funding in order to save them.
The environmental parallels between the manatee and the loss of habitat, according to Sarah, reflect the impact of humans not only on the manatee population, but also in the overall wildlife population. The loss of habitat also leaves less breeding space for population growth. Necropsies (autopsies performed on animals) reveal the impact of pollution upon the diet of the manatee. Pollution from sewage spills, run-off from industrial and agricultural plants, and general development has had a profound impact on the manatee population. Sarah’s previous work on red tide and the manatee reflected that very issue. The nuro-toxins from fertilizer runoff encourage the red tide outbreaks.
Ms. Hammermeister’s current research paints a very dreary picture of the effect of human recreational activity on the manatee population. The outcome of this human contact is injury or even death caused by the impact of fast boats hitting manatees, and those coming too close to shore without paying attention, trapping and crushing the manatees under the boat. Sarah feels that people do not appreciate how the manatee’s help keep the waterways clear for their boats.
People should have respect for the animal even for just that reason. They wouldn’t be boating around here if the waterways were clogged. I think that people can be very selfish, if you don’t have a manatee around to eat that vegetation, you won’t be boating for long. They eat the sea grasses that block the ways. You can have fun boating without killing anything. That’s how I grew up. My father taught me to be careful. It just takes awareness.
"Having the diversity of nature that we have, it is amazing that we don’t appreciate it enough in this state. I’ve worked hard and pushed for a lot of things. It’s hard to understand why others don’t value their significance. Mostly what I learn I have been told by other people. I plan on informing as many people as I can on what I know." This activist’s growing determination is inspiring enough to recruit others as activists. Her family has become involved in protecting the manatee through supporting Sarah’s activities and helping out when they can. She has also motivated others in her school to become more aware of the plight of the manatee.
With names like Jezebel, Baby Bob, Peanut, and Ziggy for the manatees, the attachment and compassion for the manatee population can be sensed. "It’s sad that every time I see one of these old friends, I have to look for what’s wrong with them. I would be nice to be able to look at them and appreciate them without worrying," sighed Sarah. I asked her how long it would take to get the manatee population back to their original population levels. She said she did not think that would ever be possible now that our task is to save what we can from extinction. This looming end to such a wonderful species definitely has a way to go before it can get past activists like Sarah.
Sarah stressed the importance of legislation in the protection for the manatees. She cited laws such as the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Florida Manatee sanctuary Act of 1978, which required signs to be posted in waterways to bring about awareness. I asked Ms. Hammermeister what else she thought needed to be done for
protection of the manatee. She said, "more needs to be done in the way of protecting the environment. We are the keepers of this planet and it’s our job to make certain that we keep the species around instead of destroying them. We need to care about all the living creatures for all generation s to come not just ours. We should learn for the examples of the rain-forest destruction, and the Florida panthers--there’s less than fifty of them left, and that’s sad."
My experience with this blooming activist was very inspirational not only in the hope for the manatee, but also in observing a student in this generation with such dedication to a cause. As she grows and takes a stronger stand in the fight for manatee lives, I feel that the level of awareness in the area will greatly rise. Sarah stated that she hopes that this will be a lifetime career for her although there is little funding in this area. I sincerely hope that Florida is privileged enough to be able to take on this turbo-charged environmentalist who is willing to fight for environmental education as well as for the environment.
So, what does it take to grow an activist? According to Sarah, "education, education, education! Start exposing kids when they’re young to nature--that’s where the love starts." I found that there is no a particular recipe. However, the seeds need to be planted through education and awareness. The impact is probably greatest on children, but I know personally from my visit with Sarah that it is never too late to plant a seed. My sincerest thanks to her for being the planter of that seed, and spreading her passion.
Bibliography
Brownell. Jr., R.L., and K. Ralls. The Florida Manatee. Facts on File, Inc. Maitland, Fl. 1981.
Clark, Margaret. The Vanashing Manatee. Cobblehill Books. Hong Kong.1990.
Darling, Kathy. Manatee on Location. Lethrop, Lee, and Shepard Books. New York, New York. 1991.
Irvine, A.B. "Manatee metabolism and Florida." Biological Conservation Journal. 25:315-334. Florida.1983.
McClenaghan, L.R. "Florida Manatee Genetics." Journal of Mammalogy. 69(3):481-488. 1988.
Reynolds, John E., and Odell, Daniel. Manatees and Dugongs. Chapman & Hall. Oxford, UK. 1991.