Alaska plans to sue over polar bear decision

Gov. Sean Parnell says the state will file a lawsuit against the federal government over the designation of a California-sized swath of Alaska's far north coast as critical polar bear habitat. The state notified Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday of its intent to sue. The case would be filed in 60 days unless the federal government addresses Alaska's concerns. The critical habitat designation is at the center of a legal and political brouhaha over offshore oil development in the Arctic. Shell Offshore Inc. is seeking federal permission to sink an exploratory well in the Beaufort Sea this summer and oil companies have long wanted to work offshore in both the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, in the middle of polar bear territory. Environmental organizations have sued under the Endangered Species Act and forced the federal government to declare the polar bear -- and a couple other species -- endangered, resulting in the critical habitat designation. That means it will be harder, although not impossible, for Shell to get a drilling permit and will require more consultation between federal agencies. The state has consistently been on the side of oil development and has filed suit in the past to force the federal government to allow offshore drilling to move forward...more