Energy

Environmental group sues to protect Pacific walrus

The Pacific walrus is threatened by climate change and should be added to the list of threatened species, said the Center for Biological Diversity in its complaint filed today in federal court in Anchorage. The center wants greater regulation of oil and gas development, shipping and greenhouse gas emissions that affect the Arctic.

``The Pacific walrus, like the polar bear, is an early victim of our failure to address global warming,'' Shaye Wolf, a biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, said today in a statement.

The Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson, Ariz., first petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service in February to protect the Pacific walrus. The agency hasn't acted on the petition.

Bruce Woods, an Alaska spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

The center was among several environmental groups that successfully petitioned and sued to add polar bears to the threatened species list in May. As with polar bears, melting Arctic sea ice is making it harder for Pacific walrus to survive, according to the group.

Tony Hopfinger

Tony Hopfinger was a co-founder and editor of Alaska Dispatch and was editor of Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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