Polar bear decision may take another 10 weeks

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The Interior Department wants 10 more weeks to decide whether polar bears should be listed as threatened or endangered, a delay that conservation groups condemned as tied to the transfer of offshore petroleum leases in the animal’s habitat, the Associated Press reports.

On Jan. 9, the department missed a deadline for a final decision, and three conservation groups sued. In the government response Thursday, Assistant Interior Secretary Lyle Laverty said the department needed until June 30 to complete a legal and policy review. A spokeswoman for the Center for Biological Diversity immediately said that falls outside requirements of the Endangered Species Act.

‘These are not questions for attorneys,’ said Kassie Siegel, the principal author on the petition seeking polar bear protections. ‘They’re questions for scientists.’

-- Francisco Vara-Orta