Spending the day perched 90 feet above ground is not what one thinks of when photographing manatees, but that is what my partner, photographer Paul Nicklen, and I ended up doing in March of 2011. Manatees and humans are in a tug of war over fresh water. Our assignment was to visualize the complex and often conflictive dynamics between boaters, swimmers, homeowners, federal authorities and the manatees that overwinter at the Three Sisters Springs in Florida’s Crystal River.

With over 1,500 golf courses, a large industrial agriculture infrastructure, and more than 3 million lawns, Florida demands a lot of fresh water. As more water is diverted from the springs to feed this insatiable thirst, the warm water of the springs stops