"ANCHORAGE, Alaska —  A federal agency faces a deadline this week to decide whether the iconic Pacific walrus will join the polar bear on the threatened species list.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under a court settlement has until Saturday to decide whether the Pacific walrus should be put on the list because of threats to its sea ice habitat due to climate change.

Walruses use sea ice as platforms for resting, feeding and nursing. In spring, ice in the Bering Sea melts and the edge gradually recedes north through the Bering Strait and into the Chukchi Sea."

Dan Joling reports for the Associated Press September 27, 2017. [2]