I want to thank you for being one of over 8,000 Ocean Conservancy voices calling for Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to halt oil exploration in the Arctic to protect polar bears. Unfortunately, our collective efforts and those of other environmental groups and some members of Congress failed to halt the U.S. Department of the Interior’s auction of oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. The auction netted the Federal Government a record $2.66 billion dollars, not a cent of which is designated specifically to protect polar bears, whales, seabirds, and ice seals, or to monitor the impact of oil exploration on the region.

As we publish this update, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—in violation of the law—has still not announced whether to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act. This is a blatant abuse of the administration’s obligation to protect wildlife from human impacts. The Arctic is fragile, and one of the few remaining habitats for polar bears. Moving ahead with risky oil and gas development without considering the effects on the environment is a bad idea and emblematic of our continued march down the path of fossil fuel dependence and increased global warming.

Ocean Conservancy will keep you informed as this issue moves forward. We remain committed to addressing these issues and urge you to stay involved and to check regularly for updates. You might be interested in learning about some of the other issues that we are addressing that relate to climate change: www.oceanconservancy.org/climatechange

Thank you,

Vicki Cornish
Vice President, Marine Wildlife Conservation
Ocean Conservancy