Media Advisory: USGS Science Available to Inform U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Decision Making on Polar Bears

In January 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed listing the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. To ensure that the best information was available to inform the final listing decision, due in January 2008, the Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne asked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to analyze existing information and generate new scientific data, models, and interpretations on polar bears and their sea ice habitats, and make them available within the decision making time frame.

What:

The USGS will host a media availability to present scientific results on polar bears and their sea ice habitats

Who:

Mark Myers, Director, USGS
Sue Haseltine, USGS Associate Director for Biology
Leslie Holland-Bartels, Director, Alaska Science Center
Dr. Steve Amstrup, USGS Polar Bear Team Leader
Where:

Via Teleconference – 800-369-1122
Access Code: 8246197

When:

Friday, September 7, 2007 at 3:30 p.m.

At 3 p.m. an Executive Summary of the findings will be available at the Polar Bear Finding Web page.