Protection denied for cutthroats

For the second time in five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the Yellowstone cutthroat trout does not merit federal classification as a threatened or endangered species.

The agency said that while the cutthroat faces challenges, including hybridization with nonnative trout, “robust” populations remain.

Many former threats to the fish, “such as those posed by excessive harvest by anglers or the ongoing stocking of nonnative fishes,” no longer exist, the agency’s findings said.

The Center for Biological Diversity disagreed, saying threats to the Yellowstone cutthroat are mounting.

Associated Press

THREATENED SPECIES

List may include polar bears

Amid concerns that global warming is melting away the icy habitats where polar bears live, the U.S. government is reviewing whether they should be listed as a threatened species.

Polar bears under U.S. jurisdiction are found only in Alaska. They spend most of their lives on sea ice, but the center said if current rates of decline in sea ice continue, the summertime Arctic could be completely ice-free well before the end of the century.

Associated Press