Supreme Court Rejects Oil Industry Challenge to Endangered Species Protection for Bearded Seals

By on    Featured, State, The Arctic and Alaska Science  

Supreme Court Rejects Oil Industry Challenge to Endangered Species Protection for Bearded Seals

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Supreme Court today declined a challenge to federal protection of bearded seals in Alaska under the Endangered Species Act. The National Marine Fisheries Service listed the species as threatened in 2012 upon concluding that climate change will destroy the sea-ice habitat the seals need to survive. The decision comes just two weeks […]

9th Circuit Court of Appeals Reverses Lower Court’s Polar Bear Habitat Decision

By on    Featured, The Arctic and Alaska Science  

9th Circuit Court of Appeals Reverses Lower Court’s Polar Bear Habitat Decision

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals filed Judge Schroeder’s opinion in the case of  Alaska Oil and Gas Association versus Jewell on Monday, which reversed 2013 lower court decision that the designation of critical polar bear habitat was too extensive and not specific enough. Within a year of designation of the Polar Bear as an endangered species […]