An area of Alaska nearly 500,000km big has been set aside and desginated a \’critical habitat\’ by authorities in the US Fish and Wildlife service. Problems have arisen regarding proposed oil drilling in the area, as now any economical activities planned for the area must go through environmental authorities first. This comes in reply to the rapid depletion in the population of polar bears in Alaska, a situation that is being drastically exacerbated by drilling for gas and oil in the area.
For more information, visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11836156
and to learn more about polar bear conservation and research visit:
http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/polar-bear/conservation.htm