Polar bear officially a threatened species

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today his decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA protects vulnerable species with two classifications: endangered, meaning the species is in danger of extinction, or threatened, in that the species is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.

Kempthorne said that three findings contributed to this announcement of listing the polar bear as a threatened species. The first is that polar bears need sea ice to survive, the second is that sea ice is receding, and the third is that sea ice is going to recede in the future. He said last year sea ice was at its lowest level ever recorded, and that scientific models project both a decline in sea ice and a decline in polar bear population.

Kempthorne said that the ESA is one of the least flexible laws Congress has ever enacted, and that it prevents him as secretary from “taking into account economic conditions and adverse consequences” when making listing decisions. He said the threat to polar bears comes from the effect of global influences on sea ice, but that this listing will not stop global change or prevent the melting of sea ice. He said any real solution will require action “by all major economies for it to be effective.” He explains that this is why he is taking “administrative and regulative action to make sure ESA isn’t abused to make global warming policies.”

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing on Polar Bear Threats and Protection

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) chaired an investigation this morning questioning the “timing and reasoning” behind the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s delay in their decision on whether or not to include polar bears under the Endangered Species Act.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works devoted significant attention to delay in the decision to include polar bears under the ESA because such a decision on the bears' inclusion will now not be made until after the Minerals Management Service has issued leases for risky oil and gas development set to occur in “almost 30 million acres of polar bear habitat.” Such leases could further threaten polar bear life.

Boxer and the Committee questioned Dale Hall, director of the USFWS, and each party agreed that due to factors such as climate change, the development and transportation of oil and gas, pollution, and even human interaction, polar bear habitat, prey, reproduction, and chances for survival has diminished. As Margaret Williams, Managing Director of the Kamchtka/Bering Sea Ecoregion Program of World Wildlife Fund noted, “We need to closely scrutinize and prevent all actions that may add further stress to the polar bear, including conducting oil and gas leasing in prime polar bear habitat.”