Stop the Polar Bear Whitewash!

Listing polar bears as threatened under the ESA should help protect polar bear habitat from threats such as oil and gas development, which the Bush Administration is aggressively pursuing in the Chukchi Sea north of Alaska, and has even proposed for the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which provides the primary land denning habitat for the polar bear.

The Administration has made it clear with its 4(d) rule that the ESA will not provide any additional protections from these activities than those that already exist under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and will provide no protection whatsoever against greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change that is destroying polar bear habitat.

In addition, the Fish & Wildlife Service failed to designate critical habitat for the polar bear upon listing it as an endangered species -- a process which is required though the ESA.

According to scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, polar bears could disappear from the U.S. entirely by 2050 due to warming temperatures. Urgent action is needed to save these magnificent animals from disappearing -- action that is missing in the May 14th ESA listing.

I urge you to revoke the "interim final" rule and provide all the protections to the polar bear that a "threatened" listing under the ESA should entail.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Address]