October 23rd, 2009 | By Nora Sawyer | Filed in Uncategorized

A polar bear strides along the ice near Lancaster Sound.

In recent months, the governments of both the US and Canada have sought to protect vital areas of the Arctic.

In Canada, federal and regional governing bodies are working to create a Marine Park in the eastern Northwest Passage, in an area already much-beloved by Arctic Kingdom expedition leaders and participants:

The federal and Nunavut governments as well as the regional land claim organization are close to signing a memorandum of understanding intended to make Lancaster Sound Canada’s fourth such protected region.

“It’s getting close to signature,” said Terry Audla, director of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. “Talks are going on and we’ll see how far it gets.”

Lancaster Sound, just off the northern tip of Baffin Island, is an area of rich ecological diversity and stunning beauty that has been on Parks Canada’s wish list for protection since 1987.

“Lancaster Sound is a one-of-a-kind jewel,” said Scott Highleyman of the Pew Environment Group, an international environmental organization.

Its dramatic coastline is dominated by 300-metre cliffs and interspersed with bays, inlets and deep fiords. Most of the world’s narwhal, as well as large numbers of beluga and bowhead whales, swim below the icebergs that bob in its waters.

In the US, the Interior Department proposed on Thursday that 200,000 square miles along Alaska’s northern coast be preserved, due to the area’s critical importance to polar bear survival.

Proposing critical habitat for this iconic species is one step in the right direction to help this species stave off extinction, recognizing that the greatest threat to the polar bear is the melting of sea ice caused by climate change,” said Thomas L. Strickland, the assistant interior secretary for fish, wildlife and parks.

In both cases, singling out these crucial areas for protection provides a much-needed respite for threatened arctic species, as well as drawing attention to the Arctic region.

The Canadian Press: Ottawa, Inuit near agreement on marine park for eastern Northwest Passage.

U.S. Urges Protecting Alaskan Land to Save Polar Bears – NYTimes.com.