Florida manatees used to be classified as endangered species, which can get more protection. But, in 2017 they were reclassified as threatened. The new proposed rule said there are many initiatives to manage the species including efforts to improve water quality and restore seagrass.

Nearly 2,000 Florida manatees died in 2021 and 2022. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the sea cows’ plight does not fit the definition of endangered.

On Monday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a proposed rule that would keep the Florida manatee at threatened and uplist the Antillean manatee, another west Indian subspecies, to endangered.

The proposed rule would keep the Florida manatee as a threatened species, continuing its status since being delisted as endangered in 2017. A public hearing is set for Feb. 26.

Federal wildlife officials releasing a proposal that would continue to classify Florida manatees as a threatened species, after environmentalists argued they should be reclassified as endangered. For decades,