Interior Dept. faulted over polar bear status

The deadline for a decision on listing Alaska's polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act was Jan. 9. Conservation groups petitioned to list polar bears as threatened more than three years ago because their habitat, sea ice, is shrinking from global warming, many scientists say.

Boxer said Kempthorne and other administration officials were "ducking their responsibility to the American people" by delaying a decision on the bears, then failing to explain why.

Boxer said she was especially troubled because the administration did not hesitate to open a major bear habitat to oil leases. The Interior Department opened a large area of the Chukchi Sea to oil and gas leases in early February, despite criticism from environmentalists, who said that one-fifth of the Arctic's polar bears depend on sea ice in their hunt for food.

"There's a rush to drill, and no rush to list" polar bears as threatened, Boxer said.

In a letter to Boxer, Kempthorne said he "respectfully" declined her invitation to appear at the hearing, since he is a named defendant in a lawsuit over the polar bear listing filed by an environmental group.

Kempthorne, a former Idaho governor and senator, said he understands that the delay in the polar bear decision is frustrating to those who advocate additional protections for the bear. But he said the oil and gas leases opened up in February do not pose a threat to the bear.