History of Polar Bears

By Rommy

  • Hunting Restrictions

    It was made prohibited to hunt denning bears and females with cubs, and hunting season only opened after the female denned with her cubs, this was all regulated throught a licensing process.

  • International Agreement

    The United States, Canada, Denmark and the former USSR signed the nternational Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and their Habitat, which stricting watched over commercial hunting.

  • Arctic National Widelife Refuge

    When the Bush administration and Alaska congressional delegation tried to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas development, the Center filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to make them release information about how oil development is harming Polar Bears.

  • Endangered Species Act

    The Center went agaisnt, or petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get them to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to global warming

  • Lawsuit Filed

    The Center, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit against the Service to force them to give a response to the listing petition of naming the Polar Bear a threatened species.

  • Announcment

    The service finally announced its proposal to list Polar Bears as a threatened species.

  • Bush Administration Violation

    A federal judge found out that the Bush administration had violated the Endangered Species Act by delaying its listing decision on the polar bear being listed as a threatened species. The judge ordered the Service to issue a final decision by May 15, 2008.

  • Endangered Species Act

    It was announced that polar bears would be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

  • Lawsuit

    The Center said they had the intent to sue the Department of the Interior because it did not protect polar bears from oil development.

  • Petition

    The Center delivered 52,000 signatures on a petition signed by online supporters to Secretary Salazar requesting that the Obama administration to remove the Bush rules weakening polar bear protections and the Endangered Species Act.

  • Secretary Salazar

    The Secretary abolished Bush's rule gutting the Endangered Species Act but failed to take any action toward true polar bear protections.

  • Obama Administration

    The Obama administration released details of a new national offshore oil-drilling program that would greatly expand oil leasing beyond that ever authorized under Bush, leaving good polar bear habitat in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas open for leasing.

  • Interior Department's Failure

    The Center told Interior Secretary Ken Salazar of their intentions to sue the Interior Department for its failure to protect polar bear critical habitat from harmful oil and gas development in Alaska.

  • Canada

    The Center filed a petition stating Canada’s failure to protect polar bears under its Species At Risk Act.

  • Bush's Rules Return

    The Obama administration said that it's reissuing a Bush-era regulation that sharply limits protection for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. Like the previous Bush rule, it would exclude activities occurring outside the range of polar bears, such as the greenhouse gas emissions of industrial polluters like coal plants