Listing the polar bear, you'll recall, would make it illegal for Americans to import polar bear trophies. That doesn't mean an American can't hunt a polar bear; it just means he can't bring his trophy home with him.
At press time in mid-January, it was anyone's guess what the Service would decide. Mike Carpenter in the USF&WS Permit Office told us he was personally anticipating a listing. John J. Jackson, III, of Conservation Force, however, thought the more likely scenario would be a split listing that is, some populations of the bear would be listed while others weren't. The populations most likely to be listed were those in West Hudson Bay and the Southern Beaufort Sea area.
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