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Wolverine Loses But Polar Bear Wins in Endangered Species Rulings

Posted May 14, 2008, 11:00 am CDT
By Martha Neil

Updated: An unexpected February sighting of a wild wolverine in California, where the animal was thought to be extinct, has sparked a renewed, but unsuccessful, call for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

But, due to shrinking habitat caused by global warming, the polar bear won such protection today under a U.S. Department of the Interior ruling, reports the Washington Post.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said he reluctantly decided to list the polar bear as threatened, because the inflexible statute "prevents me, as secretary, from taking into account economic conditions and adverse consequences in making listing decisions."

Kempthorne also was pressured to act by a federal court deadline, set in a lawsuit filed by conservationists seeking to… Continue reading...

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