Press

News-Journal: Appeals court could decide fate of controversial I-95 interchange at Pioneer Trail– April 23rd 2025

A panel of appeals court judges in Ocala on Thursday, April 24 will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by environmentalists seeking to block the Florida Department of Transportation’s impending construction of a new interchange at Interstate 95 and Pioneer Trail.

At issue, according to the lawsuit’s filers, is the potential harm the project could cause to the nearby Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve as well as an unnamed canal that runs parallel to I-95 south from the park that’s considered a protected “Outstanding Florida Waterway.”

The others involved in filing the legal complaint are Port Orange resident Derek LaMontagne, and two citizens groups: Bear Warriors United and the Sweetwater Coalition of Volusia County.

Fox 35 Orlando: Debate over proposed Florida bear hunt plays out at FWC meeting– December 11th 2024

“This is not about wiping out bears,” said one man in favor of a bear hunt. “It’s about maintaining a balanced population and high-density areas where non-lethal methods alone may not be enough.”

Katrina Shadix, executive director of Bear Warriors United, is against a bear hunt. Shadix said the Florida black bear population cannot sustain a hunt.

“We don’t have a bear problem; have a people problem,” Shadix said. “Florida has 23 million people taking the habitat away from only 4,000 bears.”

Florida Today: Environmental group wins landmark manatee protection case forcing state to scrutinize Brevard sewage– April 14th 2025

Pollution from septic tanks and sewage spills is killing seagrass, causing threatened manatees to starve to death, and Florida’s not doing enough to stop it, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge Carlos Mendoza, Middle District of Florida in Orlando, granted injunctive relief and directed Florida to apply for what’s called an Incidental Take Permit, which under the federal Endangered Species Act gives permission to kill or harm manatees if certain conditions are met.

Florida Phoenix: Judge finds manatee die-off proves Florida broke endangered species law– April 4th 2025

Unlikely victory by environmental group marks the second time in two years Florida DEP has lost an Endangered Species Act court fight. “In a state where it’s so hard to ever win anything for the environment in court,” said Katrina Shadix, founder of Bear Warriors United, “this is a big victory.”

The question is: What happens next, in the penalty phase?

“We are going to be compelling the state of Florida to care about the Endangered Species Act,” predicted Jessica Blome, one of the attorneys who represented the Bear Warriors.

WPTV: Animal rights group claims Palm Beach isn’t protecting sea turtles– July 20th 2023

The animal rights organization Bear Warriors United has issued a notice of intent to sue to the town of Palm Beach.

The nonprofit claims light violations, poor nest marking, issues with tracks and vehicles on the sand directly impact sea turtles.

“We are ready to file this lawsuit. It’s pretty egregious what’s going on at the beach,” said Katrina Shadix, the executive director of Bear Warriors United, said.

Action News Jax: Judge rules Florida agency violated Endangered Species Act, resulting in mass manatee deaths– April 13th 2025

“Florida’s manatees can’t speak for themselves—but Bear Warriors United just roared on their behalf,” said Katrina Shadix, Executive Director of Bear Warriors United. “This case is about stewardship of all that is cherished in the IRL; healthy water, healthy seagrass, healthy manatees and healthy people. It is only when the diverse agencies and peoples responsible for all these components collaborate that this health will be ensured. This case is a massive step forward to realizing that goal.”

Fox 35: ‘Welcome to Florida’ billboard stirs controversy with image of dead manatee– January 30th 2022

an environmental nonprofit called Bear Warriors United Inc. filed suit in the Middle District of Florida in Orlando against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, accusing the agency of failing to protect manatees under the Endangered Species Act.

The group, which usually acts on behalf of black bears, fighting to end hunts, has taken up the manatee cause, accusing the agency of failing to enforce clean water regulations by allowing too many septic tanks and sewage spills to foul and kill the sea cow’s staple seagrass diet.

“I never thought I would see starving manatees and their extinction from the Indian River Lagoon, but that is what’s happening now,” Gregory Lee Roy Pflug, a Florida native and Bear Warriors member who lives in Geneva, wrote in an affidavit for the suit. 

Florida Today: Bear Warriors file lawsuit to force Florida to protect sea cows– November 8, 2022

an environmental nonprofit called Bear Warriors United Inc. filed suit in the Middle District of Florida in Orlando against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, accusing the agency of failing to protect manatees under the Endangered Species Act.

The group, which usually acts on behalf of black bears, fighting to end hunts, has taken up the manatee cause, accusing the agency of failing to enforce clean water regulations by allowing too many septic tanks and sewage spills to foul and kill the sea cow’s staple seagrass diet.

“I never thought I would see starving manatees and their extinction from the Indian River Lagoon, but that is what’s happening now,” Gregory Lee Roy Pflug, a Florida native and Bear Warriors member who lives in Geneva, wrote in an affidavit for the suit. 

Fox 13: Florida non-profit sues state over policies they say allowed pollution to kill off manatees’ main food source– November 8, 2022

 A Florida non-profit group is suing the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s secretary over state policies on sewer discharges it alleges caused the mass deaths of manatees in recent years.

Bear Warriors United filed the lawsuit on Friday, alleging that state policies around water quality allowed pollution to kill off seagrass, which is the food source for manatees. 

FLorida Politics: Senate panel advances coastal resiliency bill focused on ‘green-gray infrastructure’– November 8, 2022

 The measure (SB 50) would establish more stringent standards for the development, maintenance and restoration of resilient “green infrastructure,” like mangroves, reefs and spoil islands, and “gray infrastructure” such as seawalls, flood pumps and ditches.

It would also help to identify and codify official criteria for ideal hybrids of the two known as “green-gray infrastructure” like the living seawalls now being installed in parts of Miami Beach.

Garcia briefly explained SB 50 — which attracted support from the CLEO Institute, Gene Kelly of the Florida Native Plant Society, Katrina Shadix of Bear Warriors United and David Rathke of Resiliency Florida — before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved it.

Florida Today: Judge orders moratorium on septic tanks near North Indian River Lagoon to spare manatees– May 19th 2025

A federal judge ruled May 19 that Florida has to temporarily stop approving new septic tanks in areas near the Northern Indian River Lagoon and plan to start feeding manatees again when they are faced with starvation.

The new rules will remain in effect until the state gets a federal permit that allows so-called “incidental takes” of threatened manatees, the judge ruled. “The science is no longer disputed,” said Lesley Blackner, the Palm Beach attorney representing Bear Warriors. “We have to stop the source of the damage.”

WSVN News 7: Marine biologists, environmentalists sound the alarm, call northern end of Indian River Lagoon a death trap for manatees– May 4th 2025

Katrina Shadix, executive director of the nonprofit Bear Warriors United, sued the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in 2022 to help protect the manatees.

“They suffered immensely, and for a very long time,” she said. “When a manatee starves to death, it’s an extremely painful process. Basically, their insides melt and turn to liquid.”

“There was a carcass of a mom, and the skeleton had started to show, and there was a baby skeleton inside of her body,” said Shadix, “so she died pregnant, and the bones of the baby were fitted perfectly inside the bones of the mother.”

In April, a federal judge ruled in favor of Bear Warriors United, finding Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection was “in violation of the Endangered Species Act.”