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US Sued Over Polar Bears

Feds delay decision on whether species is endangered

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 10, 2008 5:28 PM CDT

(Newser) – Three environmental groups sued the US government today for dawdling in deciding whether polar bears will be considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The original decision was due Jan. 9, and yesterday was the most recent deadline, Reuters reports. "It's up to a federal court to throw this incredible animal a lifeline," said a spokesman for one of the plaintiffs.

Environmental groups see a direct connection between the delay and the Interior Department's sale of oil and gas leases for territory off the Alaskan coast, which is prime polar bear habitat, reports the Guardian. A recent US Geological Survey report said two-thirds of the world's polar bears could be gone by 2050 as sea ice continues to melt.

Environmental activists dressed as polar bears demonstrated. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Environmental activists dressed as polar bears demonstrated. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)   (Associated Press)
A sign warning of polar bears is seen Feb. 25, 2008 outside of Longyearbyen, Norway on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. The US government is being sued over delaying their decision over whether the bears are to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. (AP Photo/John McConnico)
A sign warning of polar bears is seen Feb. 25, 2008 outside of Longyearbyen, Norway on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. The US government is being sued over delaying their decision over whether the...   (Associated Press)
This undated file photo released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a sow polar bear resting with her cubs on the pack ice in the Beaufort Sea in northern Alaska. As the federal government decides whether to list polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act,...
This undated file photo released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a sow polar bear resting with her cubs on the pack ice in the Beaufort Sea in northern Alaska. As the federal government decides...   (Associated Press)
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