Oppose Incidental Take of Polar Bears in the Southern

What the proposal said, and what the decision did

No figure from the proposal has been checked against the decision on this fight yet. What the record does hold is the issues ledger below.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing regulations that would allow SAExploration, Inc. to incidentally take small numbers of polar bears during 3D seismic survey operations on Alaska's North Slope over a 5-year period starting July 1, 2026. The proposal is made under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and would authorize 'letters of authorization' for specific activities if the rule is finalized. It directly affects Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears, a population that's already under stress from habitat loss, and opens public comment for tribes, agencies, and the public.

In the agency’s own words

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, received a request under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 from SAExploration, Inc., to issue regulations facilitating the authorization of incidental, unintentional take of small numbers of polar bears during seismic exploration activities on the North Slope of Alaska. Take may result from three-dimensional seismic survey programs and associated activities occurring for a period of 5 years beginning July 1, 2026. If this rule is finalized, we may issue letters of authorization, upon request, for specific activities in accordance with the final rule for a period of u…

Federal Register 2026-09885 ↗

The groups on this fight

One group is in on this fight

In on this fight means a link on this decision itself: the group's own regulations.gov comment on it, or a case filed over it naming the group; predicted likely to care is a guess from the group's sourced work in Alaska, with no link to this decision. Give straight to them; nothing routes through us.

• Sierra Club

  In on this fight · linked

  Filed its own comment on this decision on June 18, 2026.

  Their comment on regulations.gov ↗
• Alaska Wilderness League

  Predicted likely to care · a guess

  Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska: Built around defending the Arctic Refuge from oil and gas drilling.

• Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges

  Predicted likely to care · a guess

  Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska: Lead plaintiff in the November 2025 federal suit challenging the land exchange signed to put a road through the Izembek Wilderness.

• Northern Alaska Environmental Center

  Predicted likely to care · a guess

  Gates of the Arctic (Ambler Road), Alaska: First-named plaintiff in Northern Alaska Environmental Center v. Trump, the Ambler road suit filed in 2020.

• Southeast Alaska Conservation Council

  Predicted likely to care · a guess

  Tongass National Forest, Alaska: Southeast Alaska’s homegrown defender of the Tongass since 1970.

Every group above is on STAND for Public Lands, with its court record, its filings and who backs it.

Who signs it

The notice names no signer PLAN could read. PLAN names a decision-maker only when the document names one.

The ground

The window has closed, so there’s no watch to set on it here.

In court on this ground

This fight isn’t bound to a land unit in PLAN’s record yet, so there are no court cases to show for its ground.

Who holds the vote

PLAN’s record doesn’t tie a member of Congress to this fight yet. The scorecard grades the votes and bills that decide public lands; nothing joins a vote or a bill to this decision, so there’s no member to name here without guessing.