3 groups sue U.S. government over delay on polar bear ruling

Three conservation groups are suing the U.S. government for failing to meet a deadline on whether to list polar bears as a threatened species.

The Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defence Council and Greenpeace are suing the government in Federal Court in San Francisco, the Associated Press reported Monday.

The groups contend sea ice loss is getting worse due to global warming.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been reviewing the possibility of listing polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act since December 2006, when Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne proposed it amid concerns that climate change is melting Arctic sea ice.

Listing polar bears as threatened would require U.S. federal agencies to make sure anything they do does not jeopardize the bears or the Arctic sea ice where they live. That could affect oil and gas exploration, commercial shipping or even releases of pollution that might affect climate.

A decision was due Jan. 9, but two months later there's still no final word from the U.S. government.

The service's recommendation is being closely watched in Northern Canada, particularly in Nunavut, where polar bears are hunted by Americans and Canadians for sport, which can pay Inuit guides thousands of dollars per hunt.

The Nunavut government opposes listing polar bears as a threatened species over concerns it could potentially bar U.S. hunters from bringing the hides of the animals back home with them, severely limiting the appeal of the hunt.

Environment Minister John Baird has said Canada will not necessarily follow the lead of the U.S. should it decide to list polar bears as a threatened species.

Scientists have said it would be difficult for Canada to justify not giving polar bears a similar designation if the U.S. does so.