    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [July 11, 2002]
    [Page 1214]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1214]]

    Message to the Senate Transmitting the Russia-United States Agreement on
    the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear
    Population
    July 11, 2002

    To the Senate of the United States:
        With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to
    ratification, I transmit herewith the Agreement between the Government
    of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian
    Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka
    Polar Bear Population done at Washington on October 16, 2000 (the
    ``U.S.-Russia Agreement''). I also transmit, for the information of the
    Senate, the report of the Department of State with respect to that
    Agreement.
        The U.S.-Russia Agreement provides legal protections for this
    population of polar bears in addition to those found in the Agreement on
    the Conservation of Polar Bears done at Oslo, November 13, 1973 (the
    ``1973 Agreement''), which was a significant, early step in the
    international conservation of polar bears. The 1973 Agreement is a
    multilateral treaty to which the United States and Russia are parties.
    (The other parties are Norway, Canada, and Denmark.) The 1973 Agreement
    provides authority for the maintenance of a subsistence harvest of polar
    bears and provides for habitat conservation.
        The proposed U.S.-Russia Agreement, which would operate as a free-
    standing treaty separate from the 1973 Agreement, is the culmination of
    an 8-year effort. The U.S.-Russia Agreement builds on the 1973 Agreement
    to establish a common legal, scientific, and administrative frame work
    for the conservation and management of the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear
    population, which is shared by the United States and the Russian
    Federation. For example, the U.S.-Russia Agreement provides a definition
    of ``sustainable harvest'' that will help the United States and Russia
    to implement polar bear conservation measures while safeguarding the
    interests of native people. In addition, the U.S.-Russia Agreement
    establishes the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission, which would function
    as the bilateral managing authority to make scientific determinations,
    establish taking limits, and carry out other responsibilities under the
    terms of the U.S.-Russia Agreement. The proposed U.S.-Russia Agreement
    would strengthen the conservation of our shared polar bear population
    through a coordinated sustainable harvest management program.
        Early ratification of the U.S.-Russia Agreement by the United States
    will reinforce our leadership role in international conservation of
    marine mammals and will encourage similar conservation action by other
    countries. I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable
    consideration to this Agreement and give its advice and consent to
    ratification.

                                                              George W. Bush

     The White House,

     July 11, 2002.