Obama hands polar bears a very big back yard
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is setting aside 200,000 square miles in Alaska and off its coast as "critical habitat" for polar bears, an action that could add restrictions to future offshore drilling for oil and gas. Federal law prohibits agencies from taking actions that may adversely modify critical habitat and interfere with polar bear recovery. Assistant Interior Secretary Tom Strickland called the habitat designation a step in the right direction to help polar bears stave off extinction, recognizing that the greatest threat to the bear is the melting of Arctic sea ice caused by climate change. The Bush administration last year declared polar bears "threatened," or likely to become endangered, citing the dramatic loss of sea ice in recent decades. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)