Release of USGS Study Delayed

On September 30, 2020, the Washington Post reported that the director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) James Reilly had blocked publication of a study for at least three months. The peer reviewed study, which has now been published, examined polar bear habitats in Alaska. It found that 34 percent of maternal polar bear dens are situated on land approved by the Trump administration for oil and gas development.

Internal USGS memos obtained by the Washington Post indicate that Reilly raised concerns about the validity of data sources and the style with which information on polar bear dens was reported. However, several experts with access to the study indicated that its findings were not anomalous from other peer-reviewed studies on polar bears in the same geographic area. A spokesperson for USGS said that "its “longstanding practice is to review scientific reports prior to publication to verify the strength of the science presented,” but a former USGS official reportedly called the delay in publication “unprecedented” and troubling.

Update:

On February 18, 2020, USGS invited public comment on the already peer reviewed polar bear study. At the time, US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) spokesperson Gavin Shire said that inviting public comment on a peer reviewed study “is not something we have typically done in the past.” Scientists warned that inviting public comment on the study would  open it to criticism from those without the appropriate experience and qualifications to review the study. Director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Dr. Andrew Rosenberg, said the Trump administration was “giving industry the opportunity to negate the study.”