In connection with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s 5-year Endangered Species Act review for the threatened polar bear to determine whether the species should be delisted or reclassified, 24 U.S. House Democrats today submitted a comment letter in support of “future protections of this iconic species in the face of development and the climate crisis.”
The letter specifically said that “[b]road climate considerations and the site-specific impacts of industrializing polar bear critical habitat counsel strongly toward protecting that habitat from additional oil and gas development that will only compound the problems,” stating that “[o]ne key priority should be the firm protection of polar bear critical habitat from oil and gas development and other incompatible uses.”