After lengthy delay, Interior Dept. says polar bears to be listed as 'threatened'

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Polar bears will be listed as " threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said Wednesday afternoon, more than four months after a decision was due.

"I believe this decision is most consistent with the record and legal standards of the Endangered Species Act - perhaps the least flexible law Congress has ever enacted," he said.

"I am also announcing that this listing decision will be accompanied by administrative guidance and a rule that defines the scope of impact my decision will have, in order to protect the polar bear while preventing unintended harm to the society and economy of the United States," he said.

While there are an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears now in the Arctic, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey predict that two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear in the next 50 years because of declines in Arctic sea ice. Controversy over the status of the polar icon is tied to the fact that this is the first time a species has been considered for listing specifically because its habitat is threatened by global warming.

–By CNN's Marsha Walton