Protect Polar Bear Critical Habitat

In response to a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, the federal government has proposed to designate more than 200,000 square miles as critical habitat for threatened polar bears.

While today's proposed critical habitat designation for the polar bear is very good news, we cannot count on the Department of the Interior to do the right thing for the bears. When the species was finally listed as threatened in 2008, the Department of the Interior issued a special rule exempting greenhouse gas emissions from certain provisions of the Endangered Species Act. In May 2009, Obama's new Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar reaffirmed this Bush-era exemption for the fossil-fuels industry. A Center court challenge to the polar bear extinction rule is ongoing.

Secretary Salazar also seems unwilling to say no to the oil industry. Earlier this week he approved oil-company plans for exploratory drilling in the polar bear's habitat in the Beaufort Sea, and he is considering a similar drilling proposal in the Chukchi Sea.

Please take a moment now to write Secretary Ken Salazar and let him know that polar bear critical habitat must be truly protected -- not sacrificed to oil companies.

Please take action by January 1, 2010.

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Polar bear photo (c) Pete Spruance.

In May 2008, following a Center for Biological Diversity petition and lawsuit, the Department of the Interior designated the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, recognizing the threat global warming posed to the species.   

Under the Endangered Species Act, critical habitat is supposed to be designated at the same time a species is listed as threatened or endangered, but in practice habitat is rarely designated without litigation. Once it is designated, federal agencies are prohibited from taking any actions that may "adversely modify" it. Species with critical habitat have been found to be more than twice as likely to be recovering, and less than half as likely to be declining, as those without it.

The Center sued the Department of the Interior for failing to protect polar bear critical habitat and ultimately worked out a court settlement that led to today's announcement of proposed designated critical habitat. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Interior has until June 30, 2010 to finalize critical habitat designation for the polar bear.