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Manatee Viewing Center Opens For Another Season

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 1, 2007

Updated: 11/01/2007 10:33 am

APOLLO BEACH - The Manatee Viewing Center, a popular stop for locals and snowbirds alike, has reopened for the season.

The center, on the shore of Tampa Bay near Tampa Electric Co.'s Big Bend Power Station, is open each year from Nov. 1 through April 15, when rare Florida manatees are most likely to take refuge in the warm water flowing from the power plant.

TECO owns and operates the center, which includes several viewing areas, a gift shop, classrooms and a café.

When the air temperature drops below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, manatees typically congregate in the area, making for easy viewing. Last year, 312,000 people visited the center, the only one of its kind in Florida.

"We're excited to welcome the public to a new season at the center," said Wendy Valle Anastasiou, environmental specialist for the center. "This year, visitors will find an expanded parking lot, and we've improved our 'Florida-friendly' gardens and butterfly gardens."

The center also added a solar panel array to teach guests about renewable sources of energy, while generating electricity atop its education building. The array was installed in conjunction with TECO's Renewable Energy Program.

Parking and admission are free at the center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To reach it from Interstate 75, take the Apollo Beach exit and go west, past U.S. 41. Where the road curves, the center is on the right.

Yvette C. Hammett

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