Pacific Legal Foundation launches legal challenge to polar bear listing

July 30, 2008 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Pacific Legal Foundation has filed a 60-day notice with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for violations stemming from FWS's decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species.  The notice was filed on behalf for the California Cattlemen's Association, the California Forestry Association, and the Congress of Racial Equality.

The notice contends that the listing was not based upon the "best scientific and commercial data available," as required by Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act, and that even the data that was put before FWS do not support the listing.  For instance, as the notice points out, "[g]iven that polar bear populations are hypothetically predicted to decline by only 10% to 22% over the next 45 years (i.e., that 78% to 90% will survive) and that the effect of sea ice decline will vary by population, it is not rational to conclude that polar bears are at risk of extinction within the foreseeable future."

More information, including a downloadable version of PLF's 60-day notice, is available at Pacific Legal Foundation's website.