Polar bears have been listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act because their sea ice habitat is melting away.
The US Interior Secretary acknowledged that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions contribute to the global warming that is damaging the Arctic ice but stressed that the protective status for polar bears will not target climate change.
The US Endangered Species Act requires that decisions to protect wildlife are based solely on science and not on economic factors.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said his administrative rule aims at defining the scope of the decision, and at limiting the unintended harm to the society and the economy of the US.
The decision was made one day ahead of a court-ordered deadline.
The US government was initially supposed to decide in January but postponed its decision, citing the volume of scientific data to be considered.
