“Mom, what’s a polar bear?”
of birds molt, breed, and honk on the shores of Teshekpuk Lake, a dazzling expanse of water surrounded by ponds, streams, wetlands, and tundra.
Caribou come to this lake to hide from Alaska’s ridiculously large mosquitos. Polar bears, which are listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, make dens along the coast nearby. Historically, they built these homes on sea ice because they eat mostly seals, which they catch by patiently ice fishing. Increasingly, they are having to move onto the shore, where they have less food, as ice melts due to global warming.
The Willow project has captured national attention for its impact on humans, not wildlife. But how Willow will affect polar bears in particular—and the way the potential threat it poses was analyzed by the FWS—reveals a surprising Bush-era legal tactic that’s still shaping the Biden administration’s climate choices.Melting sea ice is why polar bears became the iconic, then cliché, climate change poster children.
The FWS assessment leaves out this threat to the polar bears. Environmental and Indigenous groups are taking issue with the omission. On Thursday, March 16, they filedthat ask the courts to halt construction while their cases are considered. Plaintiffs include local groups like Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic and Trustees for Alaska, as well as national groups like Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, and the Center for Biological Diversity.
The lawsuits are about more than just the polar bears; they also concern Biden’s authority to regulate oil production and the government’s responsibility to communities who rely on local caribou herds. The bears arguably aren’t the biggest concern here. But the limited way in which the FWS considered their well-being underscores a level of shortsightedness involved in greenlighting the project.
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