Experts on polar bears

I found some interesting commentary and numbers that really get to the heart of the looming threat of global warming and its impact on polar bears.  Full article can be found on BBC News Web site.

• Scientists say Arctic sea ice is melting at a rate of up to 9% per decade
• Arctic summers could be ice-free by mid-century
• Dr Andrew Derocher, of the University of Alberta, Edmonton, has used the data to assess the impact on the Arctic’s top predator - he believes the polar bear could disappear in the wild by the end of the century unless the pace of global warming slows.
• British polar expert Dr Peter Wadhams of the University of Cambridge says the bear faces a gloomy future unless it is able to change its habits: “It could be that a polar bear could adapt to a new habitat and adopt habits like the brown bear in Alaska which hunts salmon in streams and other small animals on land,” he said.
• Lynn Rosentrater, climate scientist in the WWF International Arctic Programme, thinks that is unlikely to happen.
• Polar bears are currently found in Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland and Norway.
• Populations in southern limits such as Hudson Bay are at most risk of dying out.

Protection of smelt - impact on SoCal

Image courtesy of http://www.delta.dfg.ca.gov

Until the droughts in Georgia last summer, I was not aware that water reservoirs and supplies were affected by protections for aquatic animals.

In Georgia’s case, Congressman John Linder was upset that water was being diverted from Lake Lanier that supplies over 3 million residents with water to support a federally protected species of mussel in Florida, according to an article in USA Today.

“We’ve learned from this what a blunt weapon the Endangered Species Act has become,” said state Rep. John Linder. “We need to understand this lake was created not for mussels but for people.”

The first step towards declaring the longfin smelt an endangered or threatened species was taken last week, according to an article in the LA Times.

The California Fish and Game Commission voted 3 to 0 to adopt protection for longfin smelt. The tiny fish makes its home in the delta, which serves as headwaters for the state and federal canals that send water to Southern California.

Those aqueducts, which deliver water to 25 million people and 2 million acres of farmland, have seen exports decline more than 40% in recent weeks because of court-ordered restrictions intended to save another diminutive fish, the delta smelt.

The addition of the longfin smelt to the protected list could affect water exports even more because its life cycle and breeding season are different from delta smelt, prompting restrictions that might begin earlier each year and end later.

Like its aquatic cousin, the longfin smelt has seen its population plummet in recent years. In 2007, it hit a record low along with several other types of delta fish, in what is considered a broad decline in the environmental health of the state’s biggest estuary.

It is unclear exactly how global warming and climate change will affect drought conditions in different parts of the United States, but there is little doubt that it will have an impact.

Examples like these illuminate the broader struggle to protect threatened species while maintaining sufficient resources to support human populations. Clearly these issues will warrant more attention and research.

NRDC fights Bush administration

The NRDC put out a press release on Tuesday concerning a law suit they filed under the freedom of information act against the Bush administration.  The group charges that the government is purposely covering up research by the Minerals Management Service finding the dangers of allowing drilling in the Arctic Ocean.

“This opposition has highlighted that, among other concerns, there are no methods proven effective for cleaning up oil spills in the Arctic Ocean. This is especially troubling because the federal Minerals Management Service admits that oil spills are likely in the Chukchi Sea if it is opened to oil and gas development.”

The NRDC would like to protect the habitats of polar bears, endangered bowhead whales, gray whales, Pacific walrus, seals, threatened eider, and other marine birds and fish. 

A day in the life of a polar bear

The Polar Bear International Web site allows you to track polar bears that have been collared, including around the Chuckchi Sea.  It is an awesome tool!

Data is provided to the site by the the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center.

Polar Bear International has teamed with more than 35 Zoos to organize the “Year of the polar bear,” which began January 1, 2008.  “PBI’s two-pronged mission is to support conservation measures through scientific research and to educate the public about issues relating to the polar bear and its habitat.”

Administration says drilling not a threat to polar bears

The leasing of the Chuckchi Sea sale is necessary step towards increasing the domestic supply of energy, wrote the director of the Minerals Management Service on the government agency’s Web site.

Among their primary arguments is that oil drilling can occur while protecting the habitats of polar bears and other animals.

  “Our decision comes down to the bare necessities:  Where do we want to get our energy?  Having a domestic supply is far more reliable and secure than relying upon foreign sources. Can we develop domestic supplies and provide protection for the environment and wildlife, including polar bears?  Yes, we can and should.”

The director says that oil spills are extremely unlikely, and that any drilling plans undergo rigorous scrutiny before being implemented.  He also notes that Congress did not take any actions to disapprove of the proposed plans.

It will be very interesting to see where this goes from here and what new information comes from the lawsuit.  This is one component of a long standing struggle between environmental groups and the Bush administration who already faces a great deal of criticism about his lack of action on environmental issues.

Alaska’s protected areas

For most of Bush’s presidency, there has been some debate over what should be done with protected forests in Alaska.  Conservationists would like to protect these areas to maintain wildlife habitats and keep roads from being built for loggers.  Other interest groups would like to see increased opportunities for logging and for oil drilling to help these industries and some say, support communities whose economy relies on these jobs.

 According to a Natural Resources Defense Council press release, “The Bush administration’s just-released management plan for the Tongass National Forest in Alaska puts millions of pristine acres in this ancient rainforest on the auction block to the timber industry, yet will raise no revenue for the U.S. government, as the U.S. taxpayers themselves will have to pay to build the roads the timber companies need to access the forest. The Tongass is the largest national forest in the country.”

 According to an article in the L.A. Times, “At 17 million acres, roughly the size of West Virginia, the Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska is the country’s largest national forest and the world’s largest intact coastal temperate rain forest. It contains grizzly and black bears, wolves, eagles and five species of wild Alaskan salmon.

Under the new plan, about 3.4 million acres of the forest would be open to logging and development. Of this acreage, about 2.4 million is in roadless areas, and about 663,000 acres is considered to have trees valuable for timber production.”

This post is to provide a little background on a complex issue, that I will continue to address in future posts. 

Bald Eagles

Photograph by Michael Melford

According to Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, “The Chilkat Valley in Haines is the site for the world’s largest annual gathering of bald eagles. Every autumn, up to 3,000 or more eagles fill the trees and river flats to feast on a late run of Chilkat River chum salmon. With a wing span of 6-8 feet, bald eagles mate for life and can live to be 40 years old. With a year-round resident bald eagle population of 200-400, the area is known as the “Valley of the Eagles.”

In June of 2007 the American bald eagle was removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, it remains protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

The eagle population in southeastern Alaska rely on large supply of salmon.  One reason to look critically at the proposals for building roads and permitting logging in the Tongass forest is to balance economic interests of the communities without threatening eagles or salmon habitats.

Endangered Species - the Monarch Butterfly

 Photo Credit: WWF-Canon / Fritz Pölking

The average adult Monarch butterfly lives about 4 to 5 weeks.  However, there is a special type of Monarch, called the “Methuselah generation,” that participate in an incredible migration taking them from Canada and the U.S to a region in central Mexico.

“Awell-preserved forest ecosystem in Mexico is critical for the survival of the Monarch butterfly wintering, which has been recognized as an endangered biological phenomenon, and the first priority in world butterfly conservation,” according the the World Wildlife Fund’s website.