Polar Bears May List as Threatened in USA

Polar Bears May List as Threatened in USA





    
 
January 2007  - "Polar bears are one 
of nature’s ultimate survivors, able to live and thrive in one 
of the world’s harshest environments. But we are concerned the 
polar bears’ habitat may literally be melting," Secretary of 
the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said last week, proposing to list 
the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered 
Species Act. 
The Arctic ice on which polar bears depend for survival is 
melting out from under them. (Photo courtesy VOA) 
A listing would mean that any activities undertaken by federal 
government agencies could not undermine the survival of the 
species. 
The decision to study listing the polar bear as threatened is 
the result of a lawsuit by three environmental groups, who 
argued that the Bush administration was slow to respond to the 
effect of climate change on polar bears. The government's 
announcement meets a deadline ordered by the court. 
Conservation groups say they are pleased with the listing 
proposal. 
"This is a watershed decision in terms of way we deal with 
global warming in this country," said Kassie Siegel, a lawyer 
at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiff 
organizations. 
Federal agencies will use the next 12 months to gather and 
analyze information and assess the reliability of scientific 
models before making a final decision on whether or not to 
list the polar bear as threatened, Kempthorne said. 
Dirk Kempthorne was confirmed as Secretary of the U.S. 
Department of the Interior on May 26, 2006. Previously, he was 
governor of Idaho. (Photo courtesy Office of the Secretary) 
"Based on current analysis, there are concerns about the 
effect of receding sea ice on polar bear populations," said 
Kempthorne. "I am directing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
and the U.S. Geological Survey to aggressively work with the 
public and the scientific community over the next year to 
broaden our understanding of what is happening with the 
species." 
Polar bears are already protected under the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act of 1972, which prohibits the taking or 
importing of marine mammals and their parts or products. 
The species is also protected by international treaties 
involving countries in the bear’s range. 
In early December, Congress passed the United States-Russia 
Polar Bear Conservation and Management Act of 2006, 
implementing a treaty with Russia designed to conserve polar 
bears shared between the two countries. President George W. 
Bush is expected to sign this legislation into law. 
The listing proposal cites the threat to polar bear 
populations caused by receding sea ice, which bears use as a 
platform to hunt for prey. 
In recommending a proposed listing, the Fish and Wildlife 
Service, FWS, used scientific models that predict the impact 
of the loss of ice on bear populations over the next few 
decades. 
"We have sufficient scientific evidence of a threat to the 
species to warrant proposing it for listing, but we still have 
a lot of work to do to enhance our scientific models and 
analyses before making a final decision," said U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall. 
Scientific observations show a decline in late summer Arctic 
sea ice to the extent of 7.7 percent per decade and in the 
perennial sea ice area of 9.8 percent per decade since 1978. 
Two polar bears are stranded on a chunk of melting ice. (Photo 
by Dan Crosbie courtesy Canadian Ice Service) 
There has been a thinning of the Arctic sea ice of 32 percent 
from the 1960s and 1970s to the 1990s in some local areas. 
Conservation groups say the decision to study listing the 
polar bear is overdue. 
WWF-US Vice President Bill Eichbaum said, " WWF had supported 
the petition to classify the polar bear as threatened earlier 
this year, based on a large volume of compelling information 
about significant changes in the polar bear's Arctic sea ice 
habitat." 
Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife, said, 
"At least five of the world's 19 polar bear populations are 
currently in decline from the complex effects of global 
warming. At this rate, the World Conservation Union, IUCN, is 
predicting a 30 percent reduction in polar bear numbers in the 
next 45 years." 
"Degrading pack-ice habitat is making it increasingly 
difficult for polar bears to find their prey. They are being 
forced to forage for food on land, where prey is nearly 
impossible to find," said Dr. Chris Haney, chief scientist 
with Defenders of Wildlife. "By boosting conservation measures 
and honestly confronting the issue of global warming, FWS has 
demonstrated the importance of protecting and recovering this 
unique arctic mammal." 
While the proposal to list the polar bear as threatened cites 
the threat of receding sea ice, it does not include a 
scientific analysis of the causes of climate change. The FWS 
says that analysis is beyond the scope of the Endangered 
Species Act review process, which focuses on information about 
the polar bear and its habitat conditions, including reduced 
sea ice. 
But, climate change science and issues of causation are 
discussed in other analyses undertaken by the Bush 
Administration, the Department of the Interior said in a 
statement. "The administration treats climate change very 
seriously and recognizes the role of greenhouse gases in 
climate change," the agency said. 
"The science of global warming in the Arctic and the impact to 
polar bears is so clear that not even the Bush administration 
can any longer deny the science," Siegel said. "This is the 
first major acknowledgment from the Bush administration and 
it's very encouraging, because we now have to move forward 
very rapidly to reduce greenhouse gas pollution." 
There are 19 polar bear populations in the circumpolar Arctic, 
containing an estimated total of 20,000 to 25,000 bears. 
The western Hudson Bay population of polar bears in Canada has 
suffered a 22 percent decline. Alaska populations have not 
experienced a statistically significant decline, but 
biologists with the Fish and Wildlife Service fear they may 
face such a decline in the future. 
Recent scientific studies of adult polar bears in Canada and 
in Alaska’s Southern Beaufort Sea have shown weight loss and 
reduced cub survival. 
While data are lacking about many populations, the Service 
suspects that polar bears elsewhere are being similarly 
affected by the reduction of sea ice. 
The Service analyzed the impact of both onshore and offshore 
oil and gas development on polar bears and determined "they do 
not pose a threat to the species." 
Polar bear in Alaska (Photo courtesy MMS) 
The Service also examined the impact of subsistence harvest of 
polar bears by Alaska native peoples. Such harvest is allowed 
under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and also would be 
allowed if the polar bear is listed under the Endangered 
Species Act, unless the Service finds that the harvest is 
materially and negatively affecting the polar bear. 
"Our goal ultimately is to combine the best science available 
with the power of working hand-in-hand with states, tribes, 
foreign countries, industry, and other partners to minimize 
the threats to polar bears and conserve this great icon of the 
Arctic for future generations," Kempthorne said. 
The evidence that Arctic ice is disappering is coming in from 
a wide range of scientists. 
The Arctic ice shelf could completely melt during summer by 
2080 because of global warming, according to more than 100 
researchers working in 45 institutions in 11 European 
countries and Russia. 
"If the situation evolves like physics predicts, the 
summertime Arctic shelf will completely disappear by 2080," 
confirmed Eberhard Fahrbach of the Alfred Wegner Institute for 
Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven. This would threaten 
the entire Arctic food chain, the scientists warn. 
The Service invites the public to submit data, information, 
and comments on the proposed rule. Comments will be accepted 
on the proposed rule for the next 90 days. 
A copy of the proposed rule and other information about the 
proposal is available on the Service’s Marine Mammal website 
located at: 
http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/mmm/polarbear/issues.htm.