The U.S. Department of the Interior has listed the polar bear as a threatened species, the first major listing based largely on the effects of climate change.
The decision announced Wednesday by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne was based in large part on research by University of Wisconsin-Madison climatologist Eric DeWeaver.
DeWeaver used climate models to predict how global changes in coming decades will likely affect the Arctic, particularly with regard to summertime sea ice, a critical part of polar bear habitat.
But Reed Hopper, a principal attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, issued a statement following the Interior secretary’s announcement threatening a legal challenge to the government’s decision.