Bush Taking Public Comments on Polar Bears

From now until April 9, 2007, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting comments from the public on whether or not the FWS should add polar bears to the Endangered Species List. Several advocacy groups are mounting campaigns to get the public involved in saving the polar bears.

Scientists have recently estimated that 80 percent of the Arctic Ice Cap will be gone in the next twenty years, and by 2040, the entire polar ice cap may be gone. The Arctic is the home of polar bears, and the loss of the Arctic Ice may mean the extinction of the majestic bears.

President Bush and Secretary of the Interior Dick Kempthorne made news in late December 2006 by announcing that the Fish and Wildlife Service is considering adding the polar bear to the endangered list. The Endangered Species Act will allow the FWS to implement regulations to save the polar bear. However, the main issue with the polar bear is a loss of habitat due to climate change. Kempthorne said in the press release that polar bears are "nature's ultimate survivors...in one of the world's harshest environments" and added that the "polar bears' habitat may literally be melting."

The proposal to add the polar bear to the endangered list means that in the next year the FWS will review studies and other research to determine if the polar bear should be protected. Recent studies have shown that some populations of the bears show a 22 percent decline, with starvation and reproductive issues causing the bears to die off.

Polar bears depend on sea ice to allow them to access their prey, primarily seals. With the ice melting, the polar bears are kept away from their marine-based diet and are literally starving to death. The bears are failing to put on enough weight to survive the long arctic winter, which makes it harder for the females to raise cubs. FWS director Dale Hall said, "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 out scientific models and analyses before making a final decision."

The problem does not end for the polar bear if and when it does make the endangered list however. The scope of the Endangered Species Act does not address the underlying cause of the loss of polar bear habitat, i.e. global warming and climate change. But if the polar bear does make the list, then the FWS and the federal government are forced to determine the best course of action to save the bears. This may force the Bush Administration to finally effectively address the issue of global warming, and to curb carbon emissions.

The public is invited to offer comments and information on the plight of the polar bear. The Natural Resources Defense Council has launched an action campaign to make it easy for the public to send the message to Supervisor Dr. Rosa Meehan of the FWS. Polar Bears International is also working to educate the public on how they can further help the polar bears' cause. The Center for Biological Diversity has also mounted a campaign to support the polar bears' listing, and is helping visitors to their website send a message to the Polar Bear Project Leader, Scott Schliebe.