Center for Biological Diversity v. Kempthorne

The Ninth Circuit held that companies exploring for oil and gas in the Beaufort Sea could accidently disturb polar bears and Pacific walruses without violating federal law. The court held that the incidental take rules for the animals in and around the sea, which is on Alaska’s north coast, were carefully and properly issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2006. The court ruled that the climate change evidence presented by the Center for Biological Diversity showed only a “generalized threat to polar bear populations” and did not show a significant impact.