Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
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Lawmakers push feds on polar bears, global warming
27 December 2006
Thanks to pressure from conservationists, including a group of lawmakers, the Department of Interior acknowledged global warming and took initial steps toward saving polar bears from extinction.
Last June, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) led a bipartisan coalition of almost 40 members of Congress who support listing the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), they wrote:
"We urge you to consider the newest research and data concerning dangers to polar bear habitat and health. We also call your attention to the lack of regulatory mechanisms that address the root causes of these dangers. We believe that a review of this evidence strongly favors listing the polar bear as a 'threatened' species under the ESA."
On Dec. 27, 2006, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced that FWS indeed proposed such a listing because "the polar bears' habitat may literally be melting."
ESA protects species identified as endangered or threatened with extinction and attempts to protect the habitat on which they depend. Despite the recent proposal, polar bears still face an uphill battle because the Interior Department still must make a commitment to protect the polar bears' sea ice habitat from global warming.
Determined to preserve the polar bear for generations to come, Inslee plans to lead another effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to support protecting the species and its crucial habitat by submitting additional comment to FWS during its open comment period on this listing.
Click here to read Inslee's letter.
All American citizens also are welcome to submit comments until April 9, 2007, by any one of the following methods: