All:

 

As many of you know, on January 9, 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed protecting the Polar Bear as a “threatened” species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The U.S. government is now seeking peer review and public comment on its proposal through April 9, 2007, prior to making a final determination about protecting the polar bear under the Act.

 

I want to encourage anyone with relevant information on the proposed listing to submit comments and participate in this important process. In particular, comments from polar bear specialists, Arctic ecologists, and climate scientists are essential to ensure that the U.S. government considers the best available scientific information when making a final decision about whether to grant polar bears protection.

 

Comments may be as brief or as lengthy as you wish, but even a short letter concerning the petition will be valuable.  NRDC and the Center for Biological Diversity have prepared a “Question and Answers” fact sheet for scientists about how to submit comments and what type of information to include.  A copy is available at: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/polarbear/Comment-Fact-Sheet.pdf.  

 

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

 

Thanks,

 

Andrew

 

 

Andrew E. Wetzler

Director, Endangered Species Project

NRDC

544 White Oak Place

Worthington, OH 43085

(614) 84-0-0891

 

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