Fish and Wildlife Finally Proposes Critical Polar Bear Habitat

But warns that this will not be a backdoor for global warming regulation

In advance of an expected flurry of Senate, EPA and White House activity on a climate change bill tomorrow, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced today a proposed designation of over 200,000 acres of "critical habitat" in the Arctic for polar bears, which were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) almost a year and a half ago. The proposed habitat includes part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Environmentalists had campaigned since 2005 to bring the polar bear under the protection of the ESA. They did this not just for the sake of the species, but also to spur government action to regulate emissions of GHGs contributing to climate change while the Bush Administration and a Republican Congress sat on their hands. The Bush Interior Department finally relented on the listing on May 14, 2008, see 73 Fed Reg 28,212, but did not designate critical habitat at the same time, as required by the Act. Environmentalists promptly sued, and today's proposed designation settles that suit. In a teleconference this afternoon, according to this article in the New York Times, Thomas Strickland, Assistant Interior Secretary for Fish Wildlife and Parks cautioned that “[t]he Endangered Species Act is not the appropriate tool to directly address the carbon emissions that are root cause of climate change.” In other words, we should not expect further Interior regulations curbing GHG emissions to avoid a "take" of the new critical habitat any time soon.

The proposed rule is available here, and maps of the habitat here. Environmentalists reactions to today's proposed designation, which urge that the government must now act to prevent further degradation of that habitat by curbing drilling and restricting emissions of GHGs, are available here, here, and here.