(AP) - Three conservation groups say they're starting legal action to force the Bush administration to list polar bears as a threatened species due to global warming.
The groups are submitting formal notice of their intent to sue, which is a necessary step before a lawsuit can be filed.
The formal notice by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace cites a missed deadline by federal agencies and officials on whether the bears will be listed.
Earlier this week, a top U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official said today's deadline would be missed in part because of the complexity of the issue. The agency has never declared a species threatened or endangered because of climate change.
"Endangered" means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. "Threatened" is seen as a less serious category, finding that a species is only likely to become endangered.
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