Bill McAllister / KTUU / May 2, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A prominent marine conservation specialist is
denouncing the Palin administration's refusal to release findings on
polar bears by the state's marine mammal biologists.

Rick Steiner says the administration is covering up the fact that the
governor made a strictly political decision in opposing the possible
listing of polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Dr. Steiner said he expects the federal government to soon list polar
bears as threatened. But what's at risk of extinction, Steiner says,
is the governor's claim to running an open and transparent government.

Steiner has been dancing with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
since December over his written and oral requests to see scientific
conclusions on polar bears reached by the state's marine mammal
biologists.

Steiner, a professor with the University of Alaska's Marine Advisory
Program, says he strongly suspects that the biologists did not
recommend that Palin oppose the listing of polar bears as threatened
under the endangered species act.

And with U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne under a judge's
order to make a determination on the listing by May 15, Steiner wants
to see at last whether the state biologists' conclusions supported
Palin's position.

"I think a lot of people would still support her decision to oppose
the listing," Steiner said. "But what we have to do is be honest and
transparent about it, and be honest that the science looked
reasonable."

Doug Vincent-Lang of the Department of Fish and Game said that while
individual biologists might have supported the listing, at least at
one time, the overall scientific review resulted in the opposite
conclusion.

"There simply is insufficient information to justify that this
population, that is not significantly declining," he said. "That's
higher than it's been in the last 40 years and that the uncertainty
associated with climate modeling leaves us to suggest that the best
available science says don't list."

As for the records request, Vincent-Lang said the administration has
been working with Steiner to get his request for documents down to a
manageable level.

"We currently have some information over at the Department of Law,
and the lawyers are looking at it to determine what, if anything,
should be released under the Alaska Public Records Act," he said.

Steiner said the administration needs to live up to its claim of
being open and transparent.

"This issue of being open and transparent with the public of Alaska,
well, that's easy to say, but more difficult to do, and here's a
chance to do it, and they're not doing it," Steiner said.

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Harris said the Legislature has
approved $2 million for a national conference to challenge the
listing, if it occurs.

"I think Alaska has to stand up for itself, because we're being
dictated, in this case, we're being dictated, I think, by entities
that aren't Alaska-based, that are outside of Alaska," Harris said.

Steiner said the issue is soon to be a done deal.

"I don't get that," Steiner said. "That's kind of the conference to
nowhere, in my book. The decision will be made in the next week or
two, and then it's a done deal."

Either way, state policy makers have had their say, even if they're
not anxious to explain how they arrived at their positions.

The listing is controversial because it would be based upon the loss
of sea ice habitat due to global warming, which some fear would be a
precedent that could stifle development, especially oil and gas
recovery.

But Steiner said the petroleum industry already has to work around
listed wildlife, and would still be able to operate.

If Steiner doesn't get the documents before the Interior Department
makes a decision on the listing of polar bears as threatened, he
doesn't think it will be irrelevant. He says he'll even consider
legal action.

While seeing the documentation might be moot in terms of the federal
government's decision, he says it will reveal something about the
governor's decision-making process, and perhaps alert the public to
the possibility that she places political decisions over science.

Contact Bill McAllister at bmcallister@ktuu.com