seagrass

A federal judge has ordered the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to take a series of steps aimed at protecting manatees in the northern Indian River Lagoon.

"If we don't manage them properly, then those seagrasses will be less resilient, and we could potentially degrade a very, very valuable habitat," said Tom Frazer of USF.

"Seagrass die-off has happened before in Florida... But this is the first time it's really been simultaneous in all five major estuaries," said Bill Kearney of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

New legislation attempts to prevent the loss of seagrass in Florida, which is essential to the state's marine ecosystem, but environmentalists are skeptical of the plan.