A few months back, here at takepart we told you the good news that the Department of the Interior listed the polar bear as an endangered species, the first species that is protected due to climate change. Well, it turns out not everyone thought the protection of the Alaskan polar bears was such a good idea. Specifically, the Alaskans.

The Associated Press reports that the state of Alaska is suing Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (awesome name) to have the ruling reversed to take polar bears off the endangered species list. From the article:

Gov. Sarah Palin and other state officials fear a listing will cripple offshore oil and gas development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in Alaska’s northern waters, which provide prime habitat for the only polar bears under U.S. jurisdiction.

In announcing the decision to sue, Governor Palin stated, “We believe that the Service’s decision to list the polar bear was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available.” The state believes, the AP article says,

Alaska objects to the conclusion that polar bears could be endangered within the “foreseeable future,” a timeline the Fish and Wildlife Service put at 45 years, or three generations of polar bears. The state called that number arbitrary.

Completely arbitrary, I’m sure. If you happen to disagree with Alaska’s decision (you know, the decision to purchase Alaska was known as Sewards’s Folly, just saying), you can takepart and visit Polar Bears International, the site that is working at “conservation through research and education.”

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