Mingling with manatees.(THIS MONTH'S GUIDE TO NOTABLE AMERICAN DESTINATIONS AND HAPPENINGS)(Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge)(Brief article)

CRYSTAL RIVER, FLORIDA -- It's the only place in the country where people are allowed to get up close and personal with the gentle, refrigerator-size manatee. From November to March, as many as 400 West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) migrate from the Gulf to the warm freshwater springs of Crystal River, where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows swimming and snorkeling with the endangered sea mammals in areas near designated protective sanctuaries.

"It's not a petting zoo," says Jim Kraus, manager of the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, about 70 miles north of Tampa. "We promote passive observation. But we have not prohibited touching …