Effective immediately, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not issue permits to allow the import of sport-hunted polar bears taken after May 31, 2000, the close of the 1999-2000 Canadian hunting season, from the MClintock Channel population, Nunavut, Canada. Due to a dramatic decline in the estimated status of this particular polar bear population, the Service today announced an emergency interim rule revising its regulations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
The use of an emergency interim rule allows the Service to take action based on new information, quickly inform the public about the change to the regulations, and, at the same time, ask for comments from the public. The Service is conferring with the Canadian government to learn what actions are being taken, in consultation with local Native communities, to manage the MClintock Channel polar bear population and what further scientific data is available on this population. The Service will consider this information and all comments received during the 60-day comment period, determine whether the emergency interim rule should be modified, and publish a final rule.
