In 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act, enacted in 1973, is the nation's primary tool for conserving imperiled plants and animals.

The Secretary of Interior listed the polar bear as threatened but restricted the Endangered Species Act's protections and thus the polar bear's future is still very much in jeopardy. See the news story from May 14, 2008 about the polar bear listing.

The Endangered Species Act's ultimate goal is to recover threatened and endangered species to the point where they no longer need the law's protections.

The chief threat to the polar bear is the loss of its sea ice habitat due to global warming. However, the polar bear is also stressed by other human activity, particularly oil and gas development activities in its habitat.

According to scientists, saving wildlife from the threat of global warming requires more than reducing global warming pollution. To help wildlife cope with the stress caused by climate change, natural resource managers must take action to reduce non-climatic stressors. In the case of the polar bear, this means that natural resource managers must limit oil and gas development in the polar bear's habitat. The Alaskan polar bear population relies heavily on the Arctic coastal plain for denning. It also relies on the ice on the Beaufort and Chukchi seas for both denning and hunting. Both of these habitat areas are threatened by increasing oil and gas development. Although the polar bear is now listed as a threatened species, the Secretary of Interior limited certain protections for the polar bear and will allow oil and gas development to continue in important polar bear habitat.

How To Help

• To save the polar bear from extinction, the U.S. must enact strong legislation that reduces the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Individuals can help by reducing their personal energy use and by advocating for legislative action on global warming at the federal, state and local levels. To avoid the worst impacts of global warming, lawmakers must enact policies that reduce U.S. global warming pollution 2% per year, leading to about an 80% reduction by mid-century.

• As Arctic sea ice disappears, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the Arctic coastal plain will become increasingly important for the polar bear. The Refuge has the highest concentration of on-shore denning polar bears in the Alaskan Arctic. This area should not be opened to oil and gas or any other development that would degrade essential polar bear habitat. The National Wildlife Federation has worked hard to protect the Refuge. Stand up for the Arctic Refuge today!

• Wildlife species are ill-prepared to meet the threat of global warming’s rapid and disruptive climate changes. Support NWF's conservation efforts by symbolically adopting a Polar Bear today.

• Take the Good Neighbor pledge today! Do your part to help reduce global warming and help cool the planet one home at a time.