WHEREAS, the polar bear is recognized to be both a national and an international resource; and
WHEREAS, the First International Scientific Meeting on the Polar Bear was held at considerable expense, under the auspices of the U.S. Government, in Fairbanks, Alaska, from 6 to 10 September 1965; and
WHEREAS, at the meeting attending conservationists and scientists from five countries demonstrated the dearth of knowledge of polar bear biology and the need for studies of its ecology, movements, population dynamics, and population size; and
WHEREAS, this lack of knowledge is cause for concern that the present rate of exploiting the polar bear from Alaska hunting bases may be excessive and the methods of hunting unsportsmanlike; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Government has not yet demonstrated its sincere concern for the future welfare of the polar bear, both as a species of major wildlife interest and object of sportsmen's interest, by implementing the recommendations of the scientific meeting;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Society of Mammalogists respectfully requests the Department of Interior, under the direction of Secretary Stewart L. Udall, to carry out comprehensive studies as recommended in the Statement of Accord of the First International Scientific Meeting on the Polar Bear "that each nation should conduct to the best of its ability a research program on the polar bear within its territory or adjacent international waters to obtain adequate scientific information for effective management of the species."