Rep. Vern Buchanan asks federal officials not to remove Florida manatees from endangered species list

Amid rumors that federal officials would announce a decision Thursday to take the manatee off the endangered species list, Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service saying the decision would be "misguided and premature."

A press conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Miami Seaquarium, where U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials are expected to reclassify manatees as threatened, rather than endangered, now that the population is estimated at just over 6,000.

Buchanan said the government needed to continue to protect the species, citing experts that have projected that the current population of manatees could drop below 500 in the next century.

"I urge the agency to withdraw its misguided and premature proposal immediately and help save this treasured species," Buchanan said. "The government must not downplay the severity of these threats to the manatee's survival."

Manatees have been listed as endangered since 1966.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Rep. Vern Buchanan asks federal officials not to remove Florida manatees from endangered species list ."