New USFWS Regulations Will Allow Arctic Oil, Gas Workers To ‘Harass’ Curious Polar Bears

The Alaska Beacon has some details on new U.S. Fish and Wildlife regulations that would allow oil and gas workers along the North Slope to fend off nearby polar bears, using the term “harass” as a tactic. Here are some details from the Beacon:

Under federal regulations, “level B harassment” takes place when someone annoys an animal enough to change its behavior, typically steering it away from an object or person. 

“Level A harassment” takes place when that annoyance has the potential to injure the animal. 

In 2024, the 9th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals said in an order that it doubted federal officials’ claims that there would be no class A harassment against polar bears and directed the Fish and Wildlife Service to reexamine its approach.

With that order in hand, the service rewrote its rules “to allow the … Level A harassment of polar bears that may result from industry activities.”

The report also stated that conservation and environmental groups have already voiced displeasure with the ruling, citing the already issues polar bears are facing as climate change has affected their habitat in the Northern Hemisphere.