Judge orders polar bear decision by May 15

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A federal court judge has ordered the Interior Department to decide within 16 days whether polar bears should be listed as a threatened species because of global warming.

U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland, California, agreed with conservation groups that the department missed a January 9 nondiscretionary deadline for a listing decision.

She rejected a government request for further delay until June 30.

Wilken says in her ruling that the government for nearly 120 days has been in violation of the law requiring the listing decision.

Wilken says the government offered no specific facts that would justify the delay, much less further delay, other than the general complexity of finalizing a rule.