FWS Lists Polar Bears as Threatened Under the ESA
On March 15, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the polar bear (Ursus maritmus) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. In the same Federal Register, FWS published notice of an interim final rule

"under authority of section 4(d) of the ESA that provides measures that are necessary and advisable for the conservation of the polar bear.... The special rule would adopt existing conservation regulatory requirements under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (MMPA), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as the appropriate regulatory provisions for this threatened species. If an activity is not authorized or exempted under the MMPA or CITES and would result in an act that would be otherwise prohibited under the general prohibitions for threatened species (50 CFR 17.31), then the Sec. 17.31 prohibitions apply and we would require authorization under 50 CFR 17.32 of our regulations."