Collisions with boats account for approximately 25% of all documented manatee Trichechus manatus latirostris deaths in Florida. The state of Florida, as well as the US Fish and Wildlife Service and various local governments, have established boat speed limits in areas frequented by manatees as a means of reducing risks. Boat speed limits are believed to reduce risks in 3 primary ways: (1) greater reaction time for the boat operator; (2) greater reaction time for the manatee; and (3) reduced severity of injuries in the event that a manatee is hit by a boat. We review the current research and other available information that forms the conceptual basis for this risk reduction method and also examine the primary objections that have been raised against requiring slower boat speeds. The available information supports the position that reducing boat speeds in specific areas is an appropriate, reasonable, and defensible management action. Additional research on how manatees detect and respond to boats would be very useful, as would further empirical studies assessing the effectiveness of existing boat speed limits.

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Wildlife management is evolving in many ways including adaptation of philosophy and practices to contemporary ideas about governance of wildlife as public trust resources. Inherent to good governance is citizen engagement, especially regarding who is engaged and to what ends management efforts are directed. Two decades ago, the profession was encouraged to shift from a client orientation (i.e., a narrow focus on people who pay for services and products) to a stakeholder orientation (i.e., any people affected by or affecting wildlife or its management). We believe that it is time again to broaden thinking about the related questions: wildlife management for whom and for what? We argue that management needs to shift slightly from a stakeholder orientation to a beneficiary orientation. This shift may be less challenging than the earlier call for change but nevertheless has implications for practices of public engagement and for objectives and outcomes of wildlife management that bring the enterprise into better alignment with the expectations of public trust resource management. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.