From: Reuters
Published May 22, 2008 07:29 AM

Alaska to sue to block polar bear listing

By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - The state of Alaska will sue
the U.S. government to stop the listing of the polar bear as a
threatened species, arguing the designation will slow
development in the state, Gov. Sarah Palin said on Wednesday.
Palin said the state will file a lawsuit in U.S. District
Court in Washington challenging U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk
Kempthorne's decision to grant Endangered Species Act
protections to the polar bear.
The Republican governor has argued that the ice-dependent
polar bear, the first mammal granted Endangered Species Act
listing because of global warming, does not need additional
protections.

"We believe that the listing was unwarranted and that it's
unprecedented to list a currently healthy population based on
uncertain climate models," said Alaska Assistant Attorney
General Steven Daugherty.
Even though Kempthorne enacted a rule aimed at precluding
any new restrictions on oil and gas operations as a result of
the listing, the Palin administration believes a wide variety
of other development activities in Alaska would be hampered if
the listing goes through, Daugherty said.
Any development or activity requiring federal permits or
using federal funds would have to engage in a "consultation"
process to ensure that polar bears are not harmed, he said.
That consultation, mandated by the Endangered Species Act,
"is a long and time-consuming process," he said. "It's just,
basically, a big time-and-money-waster."
The date for filing the lawsuit is unknown, Daugherty said.
The state Department of Law on Wednesday was drafting its
60-day notice of intent to sue, he said. (Editing by Vicki
Allen)