Much to the frustration of environmentalists but the delight of the oil industry, the Obama administration has stuck by its assessment of the polar bear being a threatened—but not endangered—species. Choosing the latter classification, which environmental groups have sought, would have had significant ramifications for the oil industry in Alaska.

 

In a federal court filing this week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) declined to increase the protection level on the bears in its court filings this week for a lawsuit filed by environmentalists. The civil case seeks to force the government to list polar bears as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.

 

If the Obama administration were to choose the “endangered” designation, they would have to confront the cause of the threat:

The bears “face a serious threat, the loss of sea ice habitat,” wrote the FWS in its court papers, “but they currently are not rare, on the brink of extinction or critically imperiled.”

 

The agency added, however, the bears are “likely to become an endangered species in the foreseeable future.”

 

Earlier this month, the FWS downsized the amount of Alaska wilderness it said should be considered critical habitat for polar bears—a move that followed complaints from the oil industry over the agency’s original habitat proposal that called for setting aside more territory.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Debate Rages over Protection for Polar Bears (by Neela Banerjee, Los Angeles Times)

Polar Bears Aren't Endangered, Federal Government Says (by Patti Epler, Alaska Dispatch)

Polar Bears vs. Oil Drilling in Alaska (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Obama Backs Bush on Limiting Protection of Polar Bears (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)