WASHINGTON \u2014 Some polar bears and their cubs already in danger of extinction could be legally killed by private oil-drilling projects in northern Alaska, according to proposed new regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The planned regs \u2014 part of of President Trump\u2019s oil lease program and awaiting approval by the US Fish and Wildlife Service \u2014 would allow for the \u201cincidental, unintentional take\u201d of a small number of the majestic white bears, as well as Pacific walruses, by energy companies in a critical habitat without facing legal consequences<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTake\u201d is a broad legal term that includes any form of killing or harassment. While the proposed rule does not flat-out authorize the killing of the animals, it does protect the companies from legal prosecution if some bears and walruses die during the course of the work, the agency conceded as part of a review<\/a>.<\/p>\n The number of polar bears in the Beaufort Sea area has already dangerously dwindled. REUTERS<\/p>\n Polar-bear cubs also could be abandoned to the deadly elements if the drilling activities scare off their mothers, while the walruses are in danger of being trampled to death by other walruses if human activity spooks them into a stampede.<\/p>\n The proposal is going through the federal regulatory process ahead of an auction of oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which is home to more than 300 animal species, including polar bears, caribou, wolves and moose. <\/p>\n The auction is scheduled for June 5 and is part of Trump\u2019s plan to expand oil and gas drilling in Alaska<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both mother polar bears and their cubs face dangers from oil companies that want to drill in northern Alaska AP<\/p>\n The Interior Department told The Post that no killing is planned \u2014 including of bear cubs \u2014 but didn\u2019t deny it may occur.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe regulation includes strict mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements designed to minimize impacts and protect these species while allowing lawful energy activities to proceed,\u201d a rep said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo lethal take of polar bears or Pacific walruses is anticipated for the proposed activities, including cubs.\u201d<\/p>\n But the leasing area includes the Beaufort Sea, a critical denning area and breeding ground<\/a> for polar bears.<\/p>\n Walrus remains lie on a beach in Alaska. The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/p>\n Animal-rights groups said they worry that the drilling activity in that area could scare off the mother bears, leaving their cubs alone and helpless in the Arctic tundra.<\/p>\n The Fish and Wildlife Service conceded in its review that \u201cif unintentional disturbance of a female polar bear by human activity during the denning season caused the female to abandon her cubs in the den before the cubs can survive on their own, incidental lethal take of polar bear cubs would occur.\u201d<\/p>\n The Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear population has faced serious challenges and is in danger of extinction, having declined approximately 40% during the 2000s and showing no signs of recovery. There are only about 900 bears in that area.<\/p>\n Nicole Whittington-Evans, senior director of the Alaska and Northwest programs at Defenders of Wildlife, said the deaths of these cubs could only further endanger the bear population, despite the agency\u2019s argument the impact of such a tragedy would be \u201cnegligible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe agency\u2019s analysis suggests that potential Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear cub deaths resulting from these activities would have a negligible impact on the population overall, which is incorrect and a notion we dispute,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The proposed Fish and Wildlife Service\u2019s rule would allow energy companies to disturb the animals while conducting operations such as drilling, transporting oil and seismic tests.<\/p>\n Oil drilling goes on in southwest Alaska. Reuters<\/p>\n Those disturbances could result in animal deaths, the agency conceded.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHuman actions can result in the mortality of polar bears,\u201d the agency notes. \u201cIncidental lethal take of walruses could occur if the animal were directly struck by a vessel or trampled by other walruses in a human-caused stampede at a walrus haulout site.\u201d<\/p>\n But the small number of deaths anticipated would have a \u201cnegligible impact on the species,\u201d the Fish and Wildlife Service wrote, citing its own studies on the matter.<\/p>\n The Alaska Oil and Gas Association petitioned the agency<\/a> for the rule.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it did not specifically request \u201cauthorization for lethal take of polar bears or walruses,\u201d spokesman Steve Wackowski told The Post in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we do not expect it would ever be necessary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But it is \u201croutine\u201d to include that authorization because \u201cthe remote possibility of lethal interactions is always evaluated as part of the regulatory process,\u201d the rep said.<\/p>\n The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to more than 300 animal species AP<\/p>\n