On Wednesday The Department of the Interior head -Dirk Kempthorne- declared the polar bear a threatened species. Saying polar bears must be protected because of the decline in Arctic sea ice from global warming. He cited dramatic declines in sea ice over the last three decades and projections of continued losses. Reflecting the views of the White House he [Secretary Kempthorne] stated that it would be “inappropriate” to use the protection of the bear to reduce greenhouse gases, saying, “the Endangered Species Act was never meant to regulate global climate change.”
Its not like they were in any hurry to place them on the endangered list. They were facing a court order from a lawsuit won by environmentalists on the 29th of April that said they [The Department of the Interior] had until May 15th to do something. As usual any of the departments under the Bush administration drag their heels and fight tooth and nail to not do anything to help the environment.