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Entry bubble Comment on Polar Bear Habitat Proposal

By: Jake | November 02, 2009 | Category: General

A Mother Polar Bear and her cubsHave you ever seen the Planet Earth series? It was a recent BBC documentary that explored various ecosystems and animals around the world. One of the scenes that sticks out in my mind is one where a starving polar bear tries unsuccessfully to eat a walrus.

I'd been thinking about that scene last week when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced a proposal to designate a critical habitat for the polar bear. The total area proposed for designation would cover approximately 200,541 square miles entirely within the lands and waters of the United States. 

This is the largest critical habitat area ever proposed by the FWS under the Endangered Species Act, though approximately 93 percent of the area is sea ice. It's mostly ice because the polar bear, which has been protected under the Endangered Species Act since May 2008, lives year-round on sea ice. 

There is concern about the critical habitat's impact on oil and gas development. This is why the FWS has set up a 60-day public comment period to get feedback from the public. You can read all the legislation and comment on the proposal.

What do you think of the FWS's  proposal for a polar bear critical habitat?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: habitat   polar_bear   proposed  

Comments (5):

blue comment bubble Posted by Georgia on November 02, 2009 at 09:42 AM EST

While the oil and gas industry may be hurt, other industries and people will be impacted if the destruction of sea ice forces polar bears to move farther inland and onto more stable ground.

A large critical habitat is necessary because the polar bear is one of the few species high level predators left in the US and naturally requires a large hunting range. The potential critical habitat areas were selected very carefully by FWS based on specific denning and feeding needs of polar bears as well as their isolation from human activities.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Vikas on November 03, 2009 at 05:44 AM EST

Unfortunately I have no idea how do I own this piece of video. Its a kind request to the moderator to guide me to get this video. Thank you in advance.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Jake on November 03, 2009 at 08:43 AM EST

Vikas,

I'm not sure of your sitituation, but if you search for Planet Earth on any online shopping site or Google Products and you should see it in the search results.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Jen on November 03, 2009 at 09:09 PM EST

Protecting the polar bear is the right thing to do period. How can one even think that we can go on forever causing extinction of one species after another? There is a balance in nature that we as humans have yet to understand. Upsetting the natural balance can bring about repercussions far greater than losing some fossil fuel, which in and of itself also causes imbalance on our planet.

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blue comment bubble Posted by wayne on November 07, 2009 at 08:24 AM EST

therte is more important things to vote on than polar bears

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