Alaska Sues Feds Over Polar Bear Listing as Threatened Species
In a battle between environmental and business concerns, the state of Alaska has sued U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, seeking to overturn his designation of the polar bear as a threatened species, under the Endangered Species Act.
“Gov. Sarah Palin and other state officials fear a listing will cripple offshore oil and gas development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in Alaska’s northern waters, which provide prime habitat for the only polar bears under U.S. jurisdiction,” reports the Associated Press.
They say that Kempthorne overreacted by listing the polar bear as threatened—because of global warming that is melting the bears’ ice habitat—on May 14. Instead, the Alaska contingent contends, what the governor calls “the best scientific and commercial data available,” as well as past experience during periods of warming, shows that the species will survive without protecting it at this level.
“The polar bear is listed as a species ‘of special concern’ in Canada, which is one step down from ‘threatened’ and two steps down from ‘endangered,’ ” reports CBC News.
The suit was filed yesterday in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Additional coverage:
Associated Press: “Group to fight polar bear’s ‘threatened’ status”
Center for Biological Diversity: “Statement of the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, and Natural Resources Defense Council on the State of Alaska’s Lawsuit to Overturn Endangered Species Act Protection for the Polar Bear”
ABAJournal.com: “Wolverine Loses But Polar Bear Wins in Endangered Species Rulings”
U.S. Dept. of the Interior: “Secretary Kempthorne Announces Decision to Protect Polar Bears under Endangered Species Act”
