I'm a Sarasota scientist. Here's why I fear for our wildlife | Opinion

Our quality of life inSarasota is inseparable from the health of our oceans.

As a scientist, conservationist and daughter of a South Carolina family that relied on the fish we caught for food, I am concerned that a federal bureaucracy is threatening our oceans by weakening the Endangered Species Act

, an effective federal law that has protected thousands of species and the habitats they rely on to survive.

On Sept. 14, a federal rule change is taking effect that will redefine the definition of “harm” in enforcing habitat protections under the Endangered Species Act.

Basically, this change reverses the 50-year understanding that habitat destruction counts as a form of harm to endangered and threatened wildlife.

This attack threatens species here

in Florida, such as manatees and smalltooth sawfish.

Florida’s endangered smalltooth sawfish are particularly important because they are a lifeboat population.

If we lose them here in Florida, they face extinction everywhere.

Floridians understand that it is impossible to separate a healthy habitat from the health and well-being of our iconic species.

That’s why grassroots opposition earlier this year blocked the attempt to build a new port near Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a development that could have had catastrophic consequences for local wildlife habitats.

Leaders from both parties heard how much we value the health of our waterways, the species who rely on them and our way of life.

It’s also why we rallied together to block the effort to open up our state parks, including Myakka River State Park, to golf course and pickleball developers.

Protecting habitats protects Floridians

But protecting species’ habitats doesn’t just benefit wildlife; it directly protects the people who call Florida home.

We all remember the devastation in 2024 when we were hit with three consecutive major storms.

In surveying the wreckage during our recovery, there was a stark difference in damage to communities depending on whether or not there were local protections for a mangrove buffer.

Often, it was the difference between emerging unscathed or being underwater.

Our mangrove forest protects our homes just as it protects shoreline habitat for wildlife.

We have a lifeboat population of smalltooth sawfish because of investments like Everglades National Park and Ten Thousand Islands Wildlife Refuge that recognize the value of preserving habitat for species that rely on our mangrove shoreline as a nursery.

It is also an example of how protecting habitat for a species covered under the Endangered Species Act is an investment in sport fishing, a vital economic contributor to Florida. For example, juvenile sport fish and smalltooth sawfish both rely on mangrove shorelines.

Whether you are fishing for sport or subsistence, we all have a shared interest in protecting habitat from harm.

Unfortunately, the weakening of the “harm” rule is not the only attempt to diminish the Endangered Species Act.

Notably, a very rarely used committee known as the “God Squad” – made up of the heads of several federal agencies – granted oil companies sweeping exemptions from the Endangered Species Act for the entire Gulf.

We all remember the nightmare of Deepwater Horizon.

I fear we risk another spill with devastating impacts on deep sea sharks and other vulnerable species.

It would be yet another painful reminder that here in Sarasota we live on the forgotten coast.

After Deepwater Horizon, I heard from many fishers about empty lines and nets. Will we allow the sacrifice of our local economy for the profits of the faraway few?

We can't stand by

Despite these attacks on habitat and species protections, I have real hope that our way of life – and the future of our iconic species – will prevail.

After the “God Squad” decree, our Florida delegation helped lead the charge to block an attempt in Congress that would have further weakened the Endangered Species Act – citing the grave risk to manatees, sea turtles and so many other species.

That leadership also continues with the Protect Gulf Life Act in Congress – which, if adopted, would reverse the damaging decree.

I hope that everyone reading this guest column takes a moment to remind our representatives in Washington, D.C. that we are not going to stand by.

We are not going to allow the destruction of our way of life – or the destruction of those species who rely on our local habitats to survive.

Jasmin Graham lives and works in Sarasota. She is the president and CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences.

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: I'm a Sarasota scientist. Here's why I fear for our wildlife | Opinion