Polar Bear

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Appendix B—Specific Conservation and Recovery Actions Considered (Research) Ensure on-going, long-term, adequate basic monitoring of Chukchi Sea & SBS populations. (Research) Support the on-going, long-term, and consistent monitoring of polar bears across the entire range. (PBSG) (Research/Monitoring) Improve subsistence harvest monitoring, e.g., tagging, genetic sampling, biosampling etc. Proposed Actions — Protect denning habitat (Action) Protect polar bear travel corridors and seasonal habitat areas (e.g., barrier islands). (Action) Create denning opportunities in prime habitat (i.e., barrier islands) through use of snow fences to create snow drifts. Proposed Actions — Minimize risk of contamination from spills (Action) Improve spill response capability—deterrence, rescue & handling of oiled bears. Train local community members as first responders. Stage equipment and supplies in villages. (Action) Minimize risk of oil spills (e.g., collaborate with Industry and other regulatory agencies on better inspections and maintenance of pipelines, production facilities, etc.). (Action) Work with Arctic Council, Russia, USCG, and others on improving spill response plans for Chukchi and Southern Beaufort Seas. (Research) Map current and future overlap of bear distribution with resource extraction activities. Proposed Actions — Effects of shipping (Research) Study the effects of shipping on bears. (Action) Encourage greater Coast Guard presence in Arctic (Arctic Marine Mammal Commission is working on this issue). (Action) Support the commercial fishing moratorium north of the Bering Straits until marine mammal management protection plans and mitigation measures are in place. (Action) Ratify law-of-the-sea treaty (Action) Expand observer program on ships to document marine mammal interactions. Engage and train local communities to staff such a program. (Action) Work with international partners to improve off-shore development & shipping regulations to minimize potential impacts on bears, especially with Russia and Canada. Proposed Actions — Effects of Contaminants (Research) Monitor contaminants and their effects on bears through harvest monitoring programs and minimally invasive sample collection from live animals; potential partners include Range States. (Action/Education) Reduce potential for exposure from acute, lethal contaminant exposure (e.g., ethylene glycol). (Action) Develop, assess, update best practices for handling contaminants, and responding to inadvertent exposures. (Action) Manage landfills via fencing and other actions to reduce exposure to contaminants. (Research) Assess current contaminant threat to bears and where the greatest risks are. (Action) Clean up legacy oil wells. (Research/Action) Determine whether contaminant levels in polar bears have implications for human consumption (food safety, food security). Proposed Actions — Effect of research impacts (Action) Evaluate and manage the cumulative effects of research on polar bears. 92 Polar Bear Conservation Management Plan
Appendix B—Specific Conservation and Recovery Actions Considered (Action) Evaluate specific research protocols by examining value to polar bear conservation and direct impact on bears. i.e. cost-benefit analysis. (Action) Develop safe-handling protocols for polar bears. Research Actions — The entries below were proposed by Recovery Team, Science and TEK workgroup during development of the Plan. The list consists of representative projects supporting research areas identified in Plan. Implementation of these or of other projects will flow from the dynamic and adaptive process associated with implementing and updating the Plan. Population dynamics and distribution. Information on population dynamics and distribution informs most aspects of wildlife management, including subsistence harvest and human-bear interactions, and is key to understanding current and future conservation status. The ecological dependence of polar bears on sea-ice as a platform from which to access energy-rich marine prey has shown for some populations that changes in the physical sea-ice environment can induce declines in population vital rates, and thus must be considered when evaluating future persistence. Because of this, long-term studies of subpopulation status, including the vital rates used as demographic recovery criteria, are needed to measure progress towards persistencebased goals. Research and monitoring on the two polar bear subpopulations shared by the U.S suggests that physical and biological differences between populations may affect how polar bears respond to habitat loss, especially in the near term, underscoring potential spatial and temporal variation in the response of polar bears to climate change. Research actions — Population dynamics and distribution 1. Estimation of population status and trend: a. via estimation of demographic parameters including population size, population growth rate, survival, and recruitment, or indices of these parameters. b. via biological and ecological indices. c. via the sex, age, and reproductive composition of human-caused removals. 2. Determine current distribution of populations and implications for population size estimation, harvest allocation, and meta-analysis of data from overlapping populations. 3. Evaluate the mechanistic relationships between sea-ice, prey abundance, and polar bear vital rates over timeframes relevant to the Conservation Management Plan. 4. Estimate the numbers of bears coming on shore in late summer and assess differential survival and fitness for bears that spend time on shore versus remaining on sea-ice. a. Expand onshore non-invasive genetic sampling, 5. Monitor the level and type (e.g., sex and age) of human-caused lethal removals 6. Develop models to evaluate future population status and management actions, perform sensitivity analysis with respect to management actions, perform risk assessments with respect to human-caused removals, and identify key information needs. a. Develop a standardized and adaptive approach for estimating sustainable harvest rates, communicating the risks and tradeoffs of different harvest strategies to managers, and evaluating the effects of harvest on population status. 7. Analyze optimal study design, sample size, and spatial and temporal distribution of sampling effort to answer key demographic questions; perform cost-benefit analyses. 8. Evaluate emerging technologies (e.g., high-resolution satellite imagery and other technological advancements) for integration into existing monitoring plans. 9. Develop effective and less-invasive research and monitoring techniques. 10. Evaluate circumpolar patterns in genetic, behavioral, life-history, and ecological diversity for polar bears in relation to the groupings of polar bears considered in FG2. 11. Improve our understanding of why polar bear populations differ in their response to sea-ice loss and based on that understanding identify representative populations in different ecoregions for monitoring responses to sea-ice loss. Polar Bear Conservation Management Plan 93
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pola
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Polar Bear Conservation Management
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Contents Executive Summary.........
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Executive Summary Today, polar bear
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and connectivity in each recovery u
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I. Background I. BACKGROUND Polar b
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I. Background the extent and charac
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II. Conservation Strategy II. CONSE
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III. Management Goals and Criteria
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B. Conservation Criteria under the
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Polar Bear

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