Tuesday, November 10, 2009

According to scientists, saving wildlife from the threat of global warming requires more than reducing global warming pollution. To help wildlife cope with the stress caused by climate change, natural resource managers must take action to reduce non-climatic stressors. In the case of the polar bear, this means that natural resource managers must limit oil and gas development in the polar bear's habitat. The Alaskan polar bear population relies heavily on the Arctic coastal plain for denning. It also relies on the ice on the Beaufort and Chukchi seas for both denning and hunting. Both of these habitat areas are threatened by increasing oil and gas development. Although the polar bear is now listed as a threatened species, the Secretary of Interior limited certain protections for the polar bear and will allow oil and gas development to continue in important polar bear habitat.

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