TAMPA - A state proposal to add manatee protection zones to Tampa Bay drew mostly praise during the first of two public hearings Tuesday night.

But three high profile environmental groups urged the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to reconsider its plan to continue designating Cockroach Bay as a voluntary slow-speedarea.

Cockroach Bay lies along the southern edge of Tampa Bay. The boaters of Cockroach Bay Users Group, or C-BUG, struck a deal with the county nearly three years ago, promising to educate boaterson why they should slow down in the shallows. In return, the county agreed to designate the area as a voluntary slow-speed zone if members would monitor boaters for compliance. The stateagreed to give the effort a chance as well.

A recent rift between C-BUG and the Save the Manatee Club prompted the club to sever ties with C-BUG.

Save the Manatee, the Ocean Conservancy and Defenders of Wildlife all requested a change in the state's position.

Save the Manatee staff biologist Suzanne Tarr said her organization backs the state's effort, which includes adding a slow-speed zone along the shallows between the Courtney Campbell Parkwayand the Gandy Bridge.

The proposal also calls for closing the outfall canal at Tampa Electric Co.'s Big Bend Power Plant to all boat traffic during the winter and adding a slow-speed zone near Rocky Point, north of the Courtney Campbell.

``Hold strong on the Rocky Point and Culbreath Bayou area,'' Tarr urged. ``It's an important buffer, but we also want Cockroach Bay put back on the table.''

Save the Manatee took offense to a recent C-BUG newsletter that referred to manatee advocates in one article as ``a cult'' and referred to manatees in a second article as ``a very seriousthreat to small boats.'' C-BUG officials said the articles were one man's opinion, not that of the group.

Tarr says C-BUG can't be trusted to educate boaters after publishing such remarks. ``Keep a good eye on their effort and make sure they are doing what they say they are going to do,'' Tarrsaid, referring to C-BUG's recently started monitoring.

In other comments, several Florida newcomers praised efforts to add layers of protection for manatees.

``It's nice that Florida does something like this,'' said Don Rose, of Largo. ``I have 500 photos of manatees I took from my back yard, and I can recognize every one of them by how many [boatpropeller] scars they have.''

``The worst thing that could happen,'' said Len Sumerson, of Clearwater, ``is to have to tell our grandchildren we killed them.''

The proposed zones will go before the conservation commission in St. Petersburg in September.