IT鈥橲 just over a month since the US government designated the polar bear as an endangered species. Now the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) stands accused of giving oil companies a 鈥渂lank cheque to harass polar bears鈥�.
The row revolves around the seven oil companies that paid $2.6 billion in February for the rights to look for oil in the Chukchi Sea, off the coast of Alaska. Some 2000 polar bears live in the region 鈥� a significant chunk of the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 bears worldwide, and the companies were worried that environmental groups might take legal action to prevent the animals being disturbed.
But the FWS issued regulations last week permitting firms to disturb 鈥渟mall numbers鈥� of bears and walruses without fear of prosecution as long as they report each incident and take steps to minimise the animals鈥� stress. If underwater sonar is being used, for instance, engineers must stop surveying should a bear swim close by.
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The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group based in Tucson, Arizona, says that the decision will allow 鈥渆ssentially unlimited harassment of polar bears鈥�. Researchers are also worried. Steven Amstrup, a polar bear expert at the US Geological Survey in Anchorage, Alaska, says no one really knows how the exploration will affect the bears because the Chukchi populations have not been studied in detail.
鈥淭he decision will allow 鈥榚ssentially unlimited harassment of polar bears鈥欌��
