Polar bears

Underlines Need for Comprehensive Energy and Climate Change Legislation

May 8, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that he will retain a special rule issued in December for protecting the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act, but will closely monitor the implementation of the rule to determine if additional measures are necessary to conserve and recover the polar bear and its habitat.    » read more »

CHICAGO (May 8, 2009) – The Department of Interior announced today that a controversial rule undercutting Endangered Species Act protections for the polar bear would remain in place. The special regulations issued by the Bush administration and generally called a “special rule” or a “4(d) rule” effectively waived many of the protections the polar bear would have received through its listing under the Endangered Species Act.

When Interior listed the bears as threatened last year it agreed with scientists about the impacts of Arctic warming on polar bears, yet the “special rule” excludes greenhouse gas emissions thereby limiting protection of the bears under the Endangered Species Act.    » read more »

May 8, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - Today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the Obama administration will not withdraw a special rule limiting protection for polar bears. The polar bear 4(d) rule was issued in the waning days of the Bush administration and would limit the protections afforded to the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.

Earlier this year, Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill that gave the administration the opportunity to withdraw two controversial endangered species act regulations. The deadline for action was listed as May 10.

Statement of Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope    » read more »

May 8, 2009, Juneau, Alaska - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was pleased to learn that U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has decided not to change the existing Section 4(d) rule regulations concerning the protection of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

This decision will provide for continued monitoring and strong protections for polar bears under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and international treaties. This means that subsistence activities and oil and gas development on the North Slope will not be subject to the consultation requirements of the ESA. Governor Palin and the Alaska congressional delegation argued strongly for retention of the polar bear rule.    » read more »

Bush Plan Neglected Impacts on Marine Mammals, Environment

April 17, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. A federal appeals court threw out plans to expand off shore drilling in Alaska today. The court sided with environmentalists, ruling that a Bush administration plan opening drilling in Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas failed to consider impacts on marine life and the environment. The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas are home to roughly one-tenth of the world's polar bears, as well as walruses, seals and whales.

Statement of Sierra Club Lands Director Athan Manuel:    » read more »

Faced with Scientific Evidence on Global Warming, Court Order, and Public Pressure, Government Grants Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing Due to Global Warming

WASHINGTON (May 14, 2008) – Following a three-year legal battle to protect the polar bear from extinction due to global warming, three environmental groups won protection for the species with the announcement today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is listing the polar bear as a federally “threatened” species.

Polar bear cub near Svalbard, Norway: Photo by Amanda Graham (CC)    » read more »

Interior Department Plan Will Allow Destructive Energy Development; Attacks Integrity of Endangered Species Act; Statement of Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope

May 14, 2008 -- “After months of delay, the Interior Department has finally recognized that polar bears are on the brink of extinction. But the administration’s decision is riddled with loopholes, caveats, and backhanded language that could actually undermine protections for the polar bear and other species.

“We can’t protect polar bears unless we combat global warming and keep oil drills out of their habitat. Yet, the administration is so keen to appease Big Oil they tout the continuation of drilling—in spite of the listing—in the headline of their press release.    » read more »

Alaska Governor Pledges to Work for Conservation

May 14, 2008, Anchorage, Alaska – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced its decision today to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne called Alaska Governor Sarah Palin this morning to inform her of the USFWS decision, and assured her that oil and gas developments are not to blame.

Polar bear, Alaska: Photo by AlaskaPodshow.com (CC)    » read more »

05/14/2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senator John Kerry made the following statement today after Sec. of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that he would list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Kerry sponsored legislation earlier this year to protect polar bear habitat from drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, and he wrote a letter to Kempthorne earlier this week, asking that he adhere to a Federal court-ordered deadline by listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.

Polar bear cub near Svalbard, Norway: Photo by Amanda Graham (CC)    » read more »

Faced with Overwhelming Scientific Evidence, Government Continues Delay on Endangered Species Act Listing Due to Global Warming

WASHINGTON (March 10, 2008) – Today the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace sued the Bush administration for missing the legal deadline to issue a final decision on whether to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act due to global warming.    » read more »

02/06/2008 -- WASHINGTON DC – Senator John Kerry made the following statement today, as the Federal Government began accepting bids for petroleum lease sale 193, which covers 30 million acres of the Chukchi Sea in Alaska. Kerry has introduced legislation and repeatedly recommended that the lease sale be delayed until the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announces its final decision regarding the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species.    » read more »

01/30/2008 -- WASHINGTON DC – Senator John Kerry yesterday introduced legislation to prohibit any oil and gas exploration activities in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas – known as the “Polar Bear Seas” – until the full impacts of exploration on polar bear populations are fully understood. Kerry’s bill also requires that no drilling activity proceed until the polar bear is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and critical habitat is designated.    » read more »

01/16/2008 -- WASHINGTON DC – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) wrote a letter to Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today, asking him to delay a 30 million-acre oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, planned for February 6th, 2008. Kerry was joined by ten other Senators in recommending that the lease sale be delayed until the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announces its final decision regarding the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species. Polar bears are in increasing danger, due to the large-scale melting of the sea ice that makes up the polar bear habitat.    » read more »

Environmental Groups will Return to Court to Enforce Deadline

WASHINGTON (January 7, 2008) – In response to the Bush administration’s announcement that it will not meet Wednesday’s deadline to issue a final Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing determination for the polar bear due to global warming, environmental groups announced their intent to go back to court to enforce the deadline.    » read more »

Scientists point to climate change as the main threat to polar bears and their habitat

Washington, D.C. (November 14, 2007) – As a result of dramatic sea ice retreat this summer and the smallest Arctic sea ice coverage ever recorded, the world’s wild polar bear populations are at risk of extinction if Arctic sea ice continues to shrink at current rates.    » read more »