The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, the Arctic waters north of Alaska, are sometimes known as America’s ‘Polar Bear Seas’ – and for good reason. One of the most unique marine ecosystems in the world, these waters are home to the entire population of U.S. polar bears, recently designated as threatened. Many of America’s most beloved sea animals thrive here, including the endangered bowhead whale, sea otters, walrus, seals and countless birds. This marine wildlife, especially the bowhead whale, is vital to the survival of the subsistence culture of Inupiat people on the North Slope.

The offshore Arctic is suffering from the effects of climate change at unmatched rates. The polar bear’s

Arctic sea ice habitat is melting rapidly and experts believe the polar bear may be extinct by 2050. Any new industrial development in these waters would only add to the effects of climate change already causing stress on Arctic wildlife.

Little is known about the effects of a recently-proposed massive oil and gas program on this fragile ecosystem. The government’s Mineral Management Service predicted a 33 to 50 percent likelihood of a large oil spill in the Chukchi Sea alone if drilling proposals were to move forward, while acknowledging that the technology needed to clean up such a spill does not exist. A comprehensive conservation and energy plan must be put in place, based on sound science that will determine if, where, how and when industrial development should go forward in the Arctic Ocean.