Polar bears are in serious trouble. As Arctic sea ice speeds toward another record low this year, more polar bears have been seen swimming in open water off the northern coast of Alaska -- when they would normally be on stable ice.

Although polar bears are strong swimmers, scientists are worried to see bears swimming so far from the nearest shore or sea ice -- one was seen at least 60 miles from shore. Such long distances can lead to exhaustion or drowning in the search for the sea ice they need to hunt seals, den and mate.

“We have some observations of bears swimming into shore when the sea ice was not visible on the horizon," said biologist Steven Amstrup, a polar bear expert from the U.S. Geological Survey. “In some of these cases, the bears arrive so spent energetically, that they literally don’t move for a couple days after hitting shore.”

Read more from the Christian Science Monitor.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently released a report predicting an unfortunate future for Florida’s wildlife -- that is, if current growth trends continue. Over the next 50 years, the human population is projected to double to 37 million and result in the urbanization of roughly 7 million acres of lands now inhabited by wildlife.

The FWC hopes the report will motivate Floridians to look at growth more wisely and inspire people to get involved to hold onto the quality of life that diverse wildlife and healthy habitat provide.

At the same time, climate change is expected to have dramatic impacts on Florida’s wildlife in the coming years. In fact, the summit (Florida's Wildlife: On the Frontline of Climate Change) originally scheduled in August, had to be postponed due to Tropical Storm Fay. Rescheduled for October 1-3, 2008, the summit will highlight a variety of challenges we can expect in the next 50 years. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Defenders' Senior Climate Change Scientist Dr. Jean Brennan will be a keynote speaker at the Orlando event.

Read more about the FWC report, “Wildlife 2060: What’s at stake for Florida?”

Same Old Drill?
As Congress returned from their 5-week recess, one of their top priorities was energy. But rising gas prices are spurring calls to let Big Oil spoil our coasts with more drilling. More than 40,000 Defenders supporters have spoken out to Members of Congress and the Administration against more drilling off our coasts. And Defenders staff is hard at work on Capitol Hill, advocating for smarter, cheaper and cleaner solutions.
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Another Brutal Season
In the wake of the defeat of a ballot measure that would have ended Alaska’s brutal aerial hunting program, Defenders is preparing for another bloody season. We’re redoubling our efforts to pass the PAW Act in Congress -- legislation that would end this terrible practice, and prevent programs like it from spreading to the lower 48 states -- and will continue our fight to hold state officials accountable.
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Your Lands, Your Wildlife
Last month, Defenders headed out to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend the Outdoor Industry Association’s annual Summer Market convention. Our outreach activities to this growing and influential constituency included our booth and a session with renowned nature photographer Joel Sartore. We also promoted our latest campaign: Your Lands, Your Wildlife, featuring an essay contest to highlight treasured public lands.

Have you had a memorable encounter with wildlife in America’s national forests or on Bureau of Land Management lands? Tell your story and you could win $1000 in outdoor gear!
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