Amid dueling agendas for Alaska’s future, the polar bear’s plight is being given some serious attention in Washington.

• The melting of sea ice has left polar bears vulnerable, as the disappearing ice forces them onto land where food is harder to find and conflicts with humans are frequent.
• The federal government has proposed designating 200,541 square miles on the coast of Alaska – this would be the largest habitat zone ever established to protect a species from extinction.
• Conservationists have warned that proposals for new offshore oil and gas development will conflict with these protection efforts as they will substantially add to  greenhouse emissions and the melting of sea ice.

Facts & Figures

• If the root problem of their melting habitat is not addressed, the polar bear could disappear from U.S. waters within the next 100 years.
• The proposed habitat covers three separate areas along the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska: the coastal barrier islands, sea ice over the continental shelf in waters less than 980 feet deep; and terrestrial denning habitat from five miles to the 20 miles inland.
• About 1,500 polar bears are believed to live in the Southern Beaufort Sea. The other significant population is in the Chukchi Sea. They haven’t been counted for 20 years, but at that point there were 2,000.

Best Quote

“Today’s announcement…acknowledges that some of the most sensitive areas on land and in the offshore waters of America’s Arctic – including much of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – are key to the species’ survival.” – Cindy Shogan, Alaskan Wilderness League