Pacific Walrus Found Imperiled by Global Warming But Left Without Protections

Responding to a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Department of the Interior today announced that the Pacific walrus deserves protection under the Endangered Species Act because of global warming, but that the department will not implement these protections. Instead, Interior will designate the Pacific walrus as a “candidate” species, which means the walrus could wait indefinitely for protection under the Act.

Today’s decision goes against the recommendation of the Marine Mammal Commission, an independent federal scientific advisory body, which endorsed listing the Pacific walrus as a threatened species…. Source: Center for Biological Diversity