Sanctuaries, new federal rules to give manatees safe harbor.(A SECTION)

New manatee refuges would be established throughout Florida under a legal settlement announced Thursday by environmental leaders who said the agreement with federal agencies could preserve the lumbering, beloved sea cow.

Under the deal reached between a coalition of 19 environmental groups and U.S. officials, developers and the marine industry, no new marina projects that pose a threat to the manatee can go forward until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service develops new permitting regulations or local governments enact safeguards.

"With this settlement comes the possibility that this endangered species might really be recovered," said Helen Spivey, co-chairwoman of the Save the Manatee Club, a moving force behind the suit brought in Washington …