Deal Brokered to Protect Polar Bears

After years of negotiations, the United States and Russia will sign an agreement today to increase the protection of polar bears in the Arctic regions of northeastern Siberia and Alaska. For the first time there will be quotas on how many bears can be hunted for subsistence by native tribes in the areas. Bear management decisions would be made by panels in Russia and the U.S. It also puts polar bear den areas off-limits and prohibits all commercial hunting and the killing of female bears with cubs, bears younger than 1 year and the use of aircraft, traps or snares to hunt bears. There are an estimated 3,000 polar bears in the Chukotka region of northeastern Siberia and in Alaska, according to the World Wildlife Fund.