News release: “A federal judge on Friday approved a settlement between the Center for Biological Diversity and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requiring the agency to decide whether ice-dependent ringed, bearded, and spotted seals deserve legal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Under the settlement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must make a finding on whether listing is warranted for the spotted seal by October 15, 2009 and for the ringed and bearded seals by November 1, 2010. In May 2008 the Center filed a petition to protect the ice-dependent ringed, bearded, and spotted seals under the Act due to threats from global warming and increasing oil development in their habitat. In September 2008, the agency found that the three seal species may deserve Endangered Species Act protection, but it has subsequently failed to make a decision on whether the species warrant legal protection within the one-year deadline provided by the statute.”