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Suit Filed to Rescue Polar Bear Sea From Drilling

Posted on: Thursday, 31 January 2008, 15:00 CST

WASHINGTON -- The following is a statement by Betsy Loyless, Senior Vice President, National Audubon Society:

Its regrettable that we now must turn to the courts to protect the polar bear from our own Interior Department. Opening up Alaskas Chukchi Sea, also known as the Polar Bear Sea, to oil and gas leases is about as shameless as this administration has been on the environment.

In a lopsided and telling series of decisions, this administration brazenly skipped a legal deadline to protect the bear, swore before Congress the drilling would do no harm even as their scientists warned them otherwise, and have done nothing but impede solutions to global warming.

By the governments own admission, an oil spill in the Chukchi is probable and would likely hurt polar bears. Spills in those icy rough waters are nearly impossible to clean up before doing damage to wildlife.

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Conservation groups and Alaska Natives joined forces today to fight oil drilling in the Arctics Chukchi Sea. Thirty million acres of key polar bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea are scheduled to open to oil and gas companies on February 6, when the U.S. Interior Departments Minerals Management Service (MMS) plans to hold bidding for drilling leases.

The Chukchi Sea is home to one-tenth of the worlds polar bears, along with walruses and endangered bowhead whales. Polar bears are currently under consideration for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Earlier this month, the Interior Department announced it would delay its decision on whether or not to list the bear for approximately one month. The delay allows just enough time for the Chukchi lease sale to move forward on February 6.

According to internal documents released by the whistleblower group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Interior Department ignored warnings by agency scientists that oil spills in the Chukchi would decimate polar bear populations.

Now in its second century, Audubon connects people with birds, nature and the environment that supports us all. Our national network of community-based nature centers, chapters, scientific, education, and advocacy programs engages millions of people from all walks of life in conservation action to protect and restore the natural world.

SOURCE National Audubon Society

Source: U.S. Newswire

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