Critical Habitat

The federal government says projected sea ice loss could wipe out two seal populations.    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to list bearded and ringed seals as threatened, but the state says it will fight the proposal because it's based on speculation.  NOAA is proposing listing four subspecies of ringed seals and two distinct population segments of bearded seals as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The ringed seals are found in the Arctic Ocean.

The Endangered Species Act is a program that aims to protect, but some say it can cause more harm than good. A small herd of Wood Bison are waiting to be reintroduced into the wild at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation.   Wood Bison have been extinct in the United States for over 100 years, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is hoping to change that. But stakeholders worry that their reintroduction would give them full protection under the Endangered Species Act, and cause problems in Interior Alaska.