Indian River Lagoon

They include feeding lettuce for the second straight year, as poor water quality and algae blooms have depleted seagrass beds that provide a key food source for manatees in the Indian River Lagoon.

Wildlife officials said that plans are in place to resume an experimental feeding program at a warm-water power plant near Cape Canaveral.

The Indian River Lagoon saw a brief respite from massive algal blooms this year. But heavy rains from Hurricane Ian led to wastewater spills and stormwater outflows in yet another setback to water quality. Even so, natural resource managers say the lagoon's restoration is still attainable.

Florida’s estuaries once teemed with clams, oysters and other bivalves that helped keep waters clean and seagrasses healthy. By the mid-20th century, only a fraction of the state’s vast shellfish beds and reefs remained. Can a small clam make a big difference in serious water pollution hotspots like the Indian River Lagoon?

About 140 distressed manatees have been rescued over the past year.

They want to be prepared for when manatees make their winter return to areas depleted of sea grasses.

The lack of seagrass forage during winter months has triggered an unprecedented die-off of manatees.

The groups say more than half of the manatee deaths were related to starvation in the Indian River Lagoon.

Florida lawmakers included $27 million for manatees in the state budget this session. Environmentalists say more is needed.

The measure is aimed at preventing another record die-off this winter.

Ongoing water quality problems have wiped out more than half of the seagrass in the northern Indian River Lagoon.