Florida Inland Navigation District awards grant to the MRP:

        The Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) recently awarded a grant for $35,000 to the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership for equipment.  The funds will be used to purchase new tags for manatee tracking.  Members of the MRP are very pleased to  receive the award from FIND as manatee tags are very expensive, costing about $5,000 each.  The grant will allow the MRP to purchase seven tags.  The tags can usually be refurbished after each use but sometimes manatees lose the tags or the tags can get damaged by boats or alligators.  Scientists need to have a tag for each manatee released plus several "extras" on the shelf in case a problem occurs.  Each manatee is tracked for at least one year to insure that it is adapting well to the wild.
        The MRP believes that working with FIND on this project will help to increase education and overall awareness regarding manatees, as well as the animals being tracked and the challenges they face.