The Alaska Oil and Gas Association is suing over a federal decision to list certain populations of Arctic bearded seals as threatened.
The trade association says there is no scientific evidence linking climate change to adverse effects on the seals. It also says that scientific data indicates the populations currently appear to be healthy.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fairbanks, seeks to have the listing rule set aside.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in December announced that ringed seals and bearded seals in the Arctic Ocean would join polar bears as species listed as threatened by loss of sea ice.
