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<H1>U.S. accused of silencing experts on polar bears, climate change</H1>
<H2>Scientists told not to speak officially at conferences</H2></DIV>
<P class=byline><A href="mailto:jkay@sfchronicle.com">Jane Kay, Chronicle
Environment Writer</A></P>
<P class=date>Friday, March 9, 2007</P>
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<P><STRONG>The federal agency responsible for protecting Arctic polar
bears has barred two Alaska scientists from speaking about polar bears,
climate change or sea ice at international meetings in the next few weeks,
a move that environmentalists say is censorship. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>The rule was issued last month by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service but was made public this week. The federal government has proposed
listing the polar bear as a threatened species, and the wildlife agency is
receiving public comment on the proposal. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>"It's a gag order," said Deborah Williams, a former high-level
Interior Department official in Anchorage, Alaska, who received documents
on Wednesday from Alaska scientists who chose to remain unnamed. The
documents make the subjects of polar bears, climate change and sea ice off
limits to all scientists who haven't been cleared to speak on the topics.
</STRONG>
<P><STRONG>Two of the memos are copies of those prepared for Craig Perham
and Janet E. Hohn, who are traveling to Russia and Norway this month and
in April. The scientists "will not be speaking on or responding to these
issues'' of climate change, polar bears and sea ice, the memos say. Before
any trip, such a memo must be sent to the administrator of the Fish and
Wildlife Service in Washington. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>According to the memos, agency scientists must obtain a
memorandum designating which official, if any, is allowed to respond to
questions, particularly about polar bears, and include "a statement of
assurance that these individuals understand the Administration's position
on these issues.'' </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>Tina Kreisher, communications director of the Interior
Department, which oversees the wildlife agency, said in an interview
Thursday that the government isn't trying to prevent scientists from
talking about their findings -- but doesn't want them to make policy
statements. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>At a news conference, Fish and Wildlife Director H. Dale Hall
denied that the memos were a form of censorship. He described the content
of the documents as part of a policy to establish an agenda and the
appropriate spokesperson for international meetings. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>Considering the high-profile nature of climate change and the
issues that might come up, it was prudent to know ahead of time what
everyone was going to discuss, he said. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>"We are not gagging scientists,'' said Hall. They can speak
with other scientists at international gatherings in conversations or at
dinner but may not speak for the United States government in a formal
setting, he said. The agency would frown on their going to news
conferences in a host country, he added. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>When asked for the administration's position with which the
Alaska scientists would have to be familiar, Hall said, "The Earth is
warming, and we have to understand how to deal with that and to slow down
greenhouse gases and manage the changes that will occur.'' </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>The agency has taken steps to evaluate whether the polar bear
should be listed and has significant questions about scientific studies,
including those dealing with when sea ice will melt and the effects on the
bear, he said. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>Environmentalists who petitioned for the new protections for
polar bears hope that a listing would force mandatory limits to greenhouse
gases. At present, the administration prefers voluntary programs to cut
emissions and has taken the position that carbon dioxide, the predominant
greenhouse gas, can't be regulated as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
</STRONG>
<P><STRONG>Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological
Diversity, one of the groups that submitted the petition to list the polar
bear, said muzzling of scientists at international meetings isn't
appropriate. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>"That type of memo might be appropriate for the State
Department and purely political issues," he said. "What we're dealing with
here is science. How many polar bears are there? Why are they going
extinct? What is the cause of the ice melting? It's completely
inappropriate to ban scientists from talking about science.'' </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>Williams, an attorney who received the documents about rules
for scientists' speech, was special assistant to the secretary of the
Interior under the Clinton administration for six years. She now heads an
environmental consulting firm, Alaska Conservation Solutions. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>"I worked very closely with Fish and Wildlife and other
Interior agencies, and a memo like this is truly inconceivable," she said.
"This is an issue of international significance, and you want your
professional public servants to be able to discuss these issues. It is
unconscionable to gag them.'' </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>The Bush administration has been under fire for several years
for allegedly trying to curb the speech of government scientists who
produce studies that contradict the administration's positions,
particularly on global warming. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>Scientists in the Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S.
Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
have been chastised for speaking to reporters, and some have been asked to
submit papers and lectures to high-level managers for review. Political
appointees at NASA have turned down journalists' requests for interviews
with scientists, and the Minerals Management Service has allowed
journalists to interview scientists, including on polar bear observations,
only if the agency could record them. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>The agencies challenged scientists over studies revealing
negative effects of oil development on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
and the drownings of polar bears possibly associated with shrinking sea
ice. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>The beloved furry Arctic animal has become a symbol for the
dire effects of a warming world. The plight of the bears, including the
deaths of polar bears observed floating in Arctic Ocean waters that may be
attributed to the long swim from the diminishing sea ice to land, were
reported by The Chronicle last year and captured worldwide attention in
former Vice President Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth.''
</STRONG>
<P><I><STRONG>E-mail Jane Kay at </STRONG><A
href="mailto:jkay@sfchronicle.com"><STRONG>jkay@sfchronicle.com</STRONG></A><STRONG>.</STRONG></I><STRONG>
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