Sierra Club Applauds Habitat Designation for Polar Bear Offshore Drilling Remains Threat Washington, D.C. -
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to designate more than 128 million acres of
Alaskan coastline and waters as critical habitat for the polar bear.In May 2008 the Department of the
Interior listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Today's proposal,
required by the Endangered Species Act, follows on a decision earlier this week by the Minerals Management
Service to approve offshore oil drilling in key polar bear habitat in Alaska's Beaufort Sea. The agency is
also considering drilling plans for polar bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea.