ORIGINAL: smokeman
I guess when you got tons of extra money to spend there is no animal safe even if it could end up on the extinction list in the near future..
I think its best to let the DNR officials determine if there should be a "season" or not, obviously like they did in this case. Managing the population, even an endangered one, could save them all from starvation, especiallyin a situation where theirchanging environment is the cause for the population fluctuation. Although it may seem certain that this (polar bear) population is growing more precarious, I'm unsure whether it is at the alarming state that some would propose.
As far as the $45,000 dollar tag goes. That, to me, would have the "earmarks" of some kind of auction, much like the Rocky Mountain Sheep Foundation auctioning off a great tag to the highest bidder for revenue generating purposes, but am unsure. That seems a little steep.
Great