Interior Secretary Salazar finally restores ESA law, but polar bears lose out

On Tuesday, April 28, Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, used their authority to restore the ESA law to full strength, but failed to rescind the “special rule” that Bush applied to polar bears during his administration. The rule prohibits taking into account indirect habitat influence from greenhouse gases, in relation to polar bear protection.

Last year, Bush Interior Secretary, Kempthorne was quoted as saying, "This special rule will ensure that this icon of the arctic retains important protections as we work with the State of Alaska and other nations within the polar bear's range to develop and implement conservation measures. But as President Bush and I have said before, the ESA is not the right tool to set U.S. climate change policy.”

The idea that climate change issues, should not be considered when managing a species, whose intire habitat is melting out from under it, seems questionable.

President Obama signed the law on March 11, that opened the door for Salazar to restore the ESA and to rescind the polar bear “special rule”. The departments of Interior and Commerce have until May 9, 2009 to take the appropriate action that clearly signals the Obama administration will not shy away from using the ESA, in its entirity, which includes protecting species habitat.

According to Noah Greenwald, of the Center for Biological Diversity, “the polar bear’s Artic sea ice habitat is melting away. If the ‘special rule’ is not struck down, the polar bear is likely to be the first large mammal to go extinct due to global warming in the United States.”

“By rolling back this 11th hour regulation, we are ensuring that threatened and endangered species continue to receive the full protection of the law,” Salazar said. “Because science must serve as the foundation for decisions we make, federal agencies proposing to take actions that might affect threatened and endangeres species will once again have to consult with biologists at the two departments.”

“For decades, the Endangered Species Act has protected threatened speices and their habitats,” said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, former governor of Seattle. “Our decision affirms the Administration’s commitment to using sound science to promote conservation and protect the enviroment.”

Restoring the ESA to full strength is cause for celebration, but without throwing out Bush’s partial exemption applied to the polar bear, it sadly makes the action seem a bit disingenuous and totally incomplete.  There is still time for Interior and Commerce to do the right thing and throw polar bears a much needed life preserver.

Sign the petition to save polar bears

***

Related articles:  poisoning wildlife inhumane