Columbus, OH – In a long-awaited decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior, polar bears have been listed as an endangered species - and global warming is being cited as the main threat to their long-term survival. Andrew Wetzler, director of the Endangered Species Project for the Natural Resources Defense Council, says Wednesday's announcement is good news for the bears, because it gives them significant protections under the federal Endangered Species Act.

"Federal agencies will be required to consult with the Fish and Wildlife service before they take any action that may affect the polar bear or its habitat. Those kinds of things include federal permits for oil and gas drilling, toxic pollution, and habitat destruction."

Wetzler says energy choices, even in places far from the arctic, will make a difference in the effort to protect polar bear habitat.

"Global warming pollution is driven by fossil fuel consumption. It's driven by coal, oil and gas, and by the cars we drive. Until we get hold of that reality, polar bears are going to remain endangered."

There's also a downside to the listing, Wetzler adds - it doesn't include specific action against global warming in the federal plan to protect polar bears. The current Administration's view is that the issue of global warming is not within the scope of the Endangered Species Act. Wetzler says this makes it urgent for Congress to pass stronger laws to reduce global warming pollution. In the meantime, he says, Ohio and other states can take the lead with their own pollution reduction efforts.



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The California Fish and Game Commission just uplisted the Mojave Desert Tortoise from threatened to endangered under CA law. Conservation groups hope this spurs more action to protect them. Comments from Jeff Aardahl (ARE-doll) senior representative for Defenders of Wildlife in California.

Groups that fight to recover endangered species are praising the California Fish and Game Commission's decision to change the Mojave Desert tortoise from threatened to endangered under state law. One study estimates the normally long-lived species has declined quickly in recent years - losing around 155-thousand adult animals from 2004 to 2014. Jeff Aardahl with Defenders of Wildlife says California's state reptile is on a fast track to extinction.

"There are so few left that tortoises are going to start experiencing very difficult situations in trying to find mates because they're just so few left. And so because of that, the trend is going to keep going down until ultimately there's no longer any tortoises left."

The biggest threats are development, military base expansion and training, livestock grazing and off-highway vehicle use. Wildlife managers have recorded dozens of animals crushed by O-H-V's in recent years, especially in critical habitat from Ridgecrest down to Barstow, north up to Fort Irwin and east to the state line. California draws 2 million off-road vehicle enthusiasts each year.

Aardahl says a coalition of groups, including Defenders of Wildlife - sued in 2021 to force the Bureau of Land Management to re-do its management plan and better protect the Mojave Desert Tortoise.

"There should be some closures during the spring period when most tortoises are above-ground foraging and mating. And then greatly reducing the miles of routes that intersect with critical habitat. "

Land managers fenced off one especially sensitive area around 1980. Since then, the Mojave Desert tortoise population there rose to be six times higher than neighboring areas that are used for off-roading.

Groups that fight to recover endangered species are praising the California Fish and Game Commission's decision to change the Mojave Desert tortoise from threatened to endangered under state law. Suzanne Potter explains why.

I'm Suzanne Potter

Reach Aardahl at 916.562.2546. Mortality data from study: https://tinyurl.com/uu92prt4 Info on lawsuit: https://tinyurl.com/wcb3ckss

The State of Washington is proposing to downgrade gray wolves from "endangered" to "sensitive" status as a species.

At last count, there were 260 gray wolves in Washington, a population which has steadily grown at an average rate of 23% since 2008, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Colin Reynolds, senior adviser for the Northwest program at Defenders of Wildlife, contended changing the gray wolf status could jeopardize the progress. He said in the western two-thirds of the state, gray wolves are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act but in the eastern third, there are no federal protections and wolves are managed by the state.

"Right now in the eastern third of Washington, there are penalties for the illegal killing of gray wolves, and there's also penalties ascribed to that," Reynolds explained. "If the classification goes from 'endangered' to 'sensitive,' as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife would like, those penalties are a little bit less, in a number of circumstances."

Reynolds pointed out the gray wolf recovery efforts are guided by the state's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, adopted in 2011. Since then, wolves have met recovery standards in certain parts of the state but not all, so he argued it is no time to change the rules.

The state countered reclassification is warranted, as gray wolves have seen 15 years of consecutive population growth, data models project it is likely to continue and there are enough state-level protections already in place to keep the population sustainable. Reynolds disagreed.

"We totally recognize and celebrate that the population has grown," Reynolds acknowledged. "But a population growth isn't the same as the recovery standards in the Wolf Plan. We haven't met that geographical distribution."

Reynolds also noted recent instances of gray wolf killings across the West. The deaths of three gray wolves in Oregon prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a $50,000 reward for information about the case.

Conservation groups say the Hawaiian Islands are on the leading edge of the fight to preserve endangered birds, since climate change and habitat loss are making it difficult for many indigenous species to survive.

A coalition of conservation organizations will hold the annual Manu o Ku Festival this weekend to celebrate the islands' myriad species.

John Kantor, a wildlife biologist with the National Wildlife Federation, said the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act has helped preserve many exotic Hawaiian species.

"The federal Endangered Species Act, and the funds that are raised for migratory birds under the various programs there, are funding the frontline researchers and conservationists and folks that are trying to solve this multitude of issues that threaten Hawaii's birds," he explained.

The festival, sponsored by the Conservation Council for Hawaii and the National Wildlife Federation, will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Coronation Pavilion of the Iolani Palace in Honolulu.

Kanter said the Migratory Bird Treaty was created in 1918 and updated in 1936. In conjunction with Canada, Mexico and other nations, it limits the taking of certain species for commercial products or as game. He cited the wood duck as one example, which is now plentiful but was almost wiped out a century ago.

"That species was almost extinct," he said, "and it is a hunted species - but there's strict regulations that are developed between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the states every year, based on the number of birds, that then are applied to the following season."

This year's festival celebrates the manu o ku, or white fairy tern, as an ambassador for other native Hawaiian species. Organizers have said conservation groups, educators and others are invited to share games and activities for people of all ages in learning about the manu o ku.