Fish and Wildlife Service is legally required to cite the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study before it can determine whether drilling can proceed without causing too much harm to the region’s polar bears. AD“The report underscores that the southern Beaufort Sea polar bear population is facing a dual threat due to climate change and oil and gas drilling,” she said in an interview. “You’ll never find them all.”Reilly also questioned the decision to include accompanying data compiled by Steven Amstrup, who served as the lead polar bear researcher for the agency’s Alaska Science Center between 1980 and 2010. Amstrup now serves as chief scientist for Polar Bears International and has voiced opposition to the administration’s expansion of drilling on Alaska’s North Slope. ADADAgency scientists reply in the memo that Amstrup was not involved in the new assessment but had to be cited because he had identified dens and polar bear locations as the top polar bear researcher at USGS for 30 years.

Source: Washington Post September 30, 2020 19:30 UTC