Jimmy Buffett and Fla. gov talk manatees

TAMPA, Fla. - The subject was manatees when Jimmy Buffett and Gov. Charlie Crist got together to talk about environmental issues.

Crist met privately with the 60-year-old singer for about 10 minutes Thursday and then introduced him to nearly 20,000 fans at a concert, saying: "He has Florida in his heart and he loves her like I do."

The governor recently pushed state wildlife commissioners to delay a decision to downgrade protections for manatees.

State experts have determined that the manatee is no longer endangered, a term that means a species is at imminent risk of extinction. They say the manatee should be reclassified as threatened, which means it faces a high risk of extinction.

Crist said Buffett thanked him for what he did for the sea cows.

"And I said, `No, thank you,'" the governor said. "Thank you for doing so much for our state and looking out for our wildlife and our natural estuaries and caring so much about Florida.'"

Crist also did a live interview on Radio Margaritaville, Buffett's Sirius Satellite Radio station.

Last spring, Crist appeared with Sheryl Crow to promote awareness of climate change.

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