Washington, D.C. – Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) today introduced the United States-Russia Polar Bear Conservation and Management Implementation Act of 2005.

Chairman Stevens made the following statement on the Senate floor upon the bill's introduction:

I introduce today a bill to implement the provisions of the “Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population”. This bill is co-sponsored by Senator Inouye.

The United States-Russia Polar Bear Conservation and Management Implementation Act of 2005 will amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act adding provisions to create a binational U.S. and Russian Polar Bear Commission. This commission will be authorized to determine annual take limits and the adoption of other measures to restrict the taking of polar bears for subsistence purposes. The Commission will also identify polar bear habitats and “develop recommendations for habitat conservation measures.” Additionally, it prohibits the possession, import, export, transport, sale, receipt, acquisition, or purchase of any polar bear (or any part or product thereof) that is taken in violation of the Agreement.

This bill will simultaneously support the conservation of U.S. and Russian Polar Bear populations and the historical traditions of indigenous peoples in the arctic region.

This implementing legislation for the Polar Bear Treaty is necessary to establish the needed regulatory and management entities in both the U.S. and Russia. The shared population of Polar Bears that migrate between out two nations deserve the added protections and conservation this bill will provide.

The U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Treaty was completed and signed by both countries on October 16, 2000. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on the treaty in June of 2003, and reported it out favorably on July 23, 2003. The full Senate agreed to the resolution of advice and consent on the treaty on July 31, 2003. This legislation is needed for the U.S. to ratify and implement the treaty. The Administration is supportive of the treaty and the proposed legislation, as are Alaska Natives, the State of Alaska, and conservation groups.

Russia has indicated that once the U.S. ratifies the treaty, it will promptly do the same.