The plight of polar bears is in the spotlight following recent news of drowning, cannibalization and the species' inclusion on the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species. Although the threats to their survival are grim, a recently passed law to implement the U.S.-Russia bilateral agreement on polar bear conservation and a proposal to list them as threatened under the Endangered Species Act are encouraging signs that the species may yet be saved.
Greater Protections for the U.S.-Russian Population
In 1973, the devastation of polar bear populations from sport hunting prompted countries with polar bear populations—Canada, Denmark (on behalf of Greenland), Norway, the Soviet Union (now the Russian Federation), and the United States—to sign the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears. Along with provisions for habitat conservation and subsistence hunting, the agreement called for each country to develop a conservation program.
In October, 2000, the Russian Federation and the United States negotiated a bilateral agreement on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population, which provided greater protections for the countries' shared population than found in the 1973 Agreement. The purpose of this bilateral agreement was to establish a joint management mechanism, particularly necessary to help curb poaching in Russia.
The bilateral agreement:
- includes provisions for setting hunt quotas. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the only restriction on subsistence hunts is that they must not be "wasteful" – quotas are not required;
- prohibits the hunting of denning bears, females with cubs, and cubs under one year of age;
- does not allow the use of aircraft, large motorized vehicles, snares or poison for hunting purposes;
- allows for greater research opportunities; and
- restricts commercial uses of harvested polar bears to handicrafts by Native people.
Additionally, the agreement created a Polar Bear Commission to consider scientific information on polar bears, set annual hunt quotas, and recommend conservation measures. This treaty unified the management programs of the governments of the United States and the Russian Federation, and while the U.S. Senate ratified the agreement relatively promptly, the Congress did not pass any implementing legislation for six years.
On June 6, 2006, the Senate unanimously approved the United States-Russia Polar Bear Conservation and Management Implementation Act (S. 2013). This legislation amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow the implementation of the bilateral agreement, and it specifies how two U.S. representatives—one from the federal government and one from the Alaska Native community—will be appointed to a Polar Bear Commission that will guide and enforce the management program. Russia has already ratified the bilateral agreement and has a framework for its implementation. It has appointed its representative to the Commission.
After the passage of S. 2013, an amendment was adopted by the Senate which allows Congress to give $1 million to the Secretary of the Interior, $150,000 for the Polar Bear Commission, and $150,000 for the Alaskan Cooperative Management Program. This money will be used to oversee the management and subsistence harvests in Alaska.
On July 17, 2006, the House of Representatives passed similar implementing legislation (H.R. 4075). The two (which have minor differences) will be reconciled in conference and then sent to President Bush for his signature.
Listing the Polar Bear as an Endangered Species
The threat of extinction due to global warming prompted the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, and the Natural Resources Defense Council to file a petition in February 2005 with the Fish and Wildlife Service to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. As a result, the FWS initiated a status review process, requesting information from all concerned parties on the polar bear and its habitat and providing a 90-day public comment period, which was extended once. In the final step of this process, which is estimated to be open until the end of August 2006, copies of the comments were sent to a minimum of three peer reviewers. The proposed finding, which will state whether the FWS believes that the polar bear should be listed under the ESA, is anticipated to be published in the Federal Register in December 2006.
The Endangered Species Act describes an endangered species as one that "is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range." In order to be considered threatened; the polar bear must be "likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range." According to the IUCN Red List assessment, polar bear populations are predicted to decline by more than 30 percent within 45 years.
Listing the polar bear under the ESA would force the U.S. government to take steps to protect this beleaguered species. Regulatory agencies would be required to take into account how their decisions affect polar bears, resulting in stricter pollution laws. According to the ESA petition, significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are imperative to ensure the survival of the iconic polar bear.
Polar bears are rapidly losing their habitat to rising temperatures, environmental contaminants, and development. Additionally, unsustainable hunting is threatening some populations. To save the species, conservation measures must quickly be developed and implemented; listing the polar bear under the ESA would be a step in this direction.
Take Action!
Urge Dirk Kempthorne, the Secretary of the Interior, to suspend imports of sport hunted polar bear trophies while the populations are under review.
