Surviving in the Arctic / U.S. Geological Survey photo
On December 22 the Obama administration reaffirmed a Bush-era decision that listed the polar bear as “threatened,” rather than the more protective “endangered,” under the Endangered Species Act. The Department of the Interior says the polar bear does not qualify as “endangered” because it is not “on the brink” of extinction — a standard that is not contained in the Endangered Species Act. Our friends at the Center for Biological Diversity charge that the administration is sacrificing sound science for political expediency.
The Washington Post reported on December 22:
Polar bears will continue as ‘threatened,’ not ‘endangered’
The Obama administration reaffirmed Wednesday its decision to designate polar bears as a “threatened,” not “endangered,” species, in defiance of the wishes of conservationists who say the bears are in danger of extinction because their arctic hunting grounds are melting.
The administration was under a court-imposed deadline to decide whether it would upgrade the bears’ status to “endangered.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told a U.S. District Court judge Wednesday that the threatened designation will not change because polar bears were not considered to be in danger of extinction at the time of the listing in 2008.
“The Service explained how its biologists had concluded in 2008 that the polar bear was not facing sudden and catastrophic threats [and] was still a widespread species that had not been restricted to a critically small range or critically low numbers,” the agency said in a statement.
Threatened species receive most of the same regulatory protections as those listed under the Endangered Species Act, including a requirement that federal agencies refrain from actions that might jeopardize their existence or destroy or harm their habitat. …
The Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council issued this statement on December 23 in response to the new decision:
“The Obama administration delivered a lump of coal to the polar bear for Christmas,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center’s Climate Law Institute and lead author of the 2005 petition to federally protect the polar bear. “Once again President Obama’s Interior Department has sacrificed sound science for political expediency, and the polar bear will suffer as a result.”
“I guess if a wrecking ball is barreling down on your house, you are just ‘threatened’…it might change course,” said Andrew Wetzler, Director of the Land & Wildlife Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The administration missed an opportunity. We are convinced that is wrong and any reasonable definition of ‘endangered species’ includes the polar bear.”
“Unfortunately, rather than acknowledge the plight of the polar bear, the Obama administration continued its head-in-sand approach to species protection in the face of global warming,” said Melanie Duchin of Greenpeace. “Ultimately, we are confident the court will do what the Obama administration failed to do — give polar bears the legal protection to which they are entitled and which they need.”
Note on the polar bear photo above:
The U.S. Geological Survey website provides the following above (emphasis added):
Title: Surviving in the Arctic
Description: This image is of two polar bears cuddled together on a piece of Arctic sea ice, surrounded by ocean water and thin layers of sea ice. This image allows for a deeper understanding of the endangered species and highlights the need for USGS research to help in their protection.
Earlier posts:
Arctic seals listed as threatened by climate change; polar bears get critical habitat designation
Environmental groups force “critical habitat” designation for polar bears, despite Palin’s lawsuit