Jurisdictional Inequalities. Most current information about polar bears has been derived from studies in Alaska, Canada, and Svalbard. Large portions of the Arctic either have not been studied or have been the site of less consistant efforts. These inequalities create difficulties when we attempt to manage shared populations or wish to draw conclusions applicable over large regions of the Arctic. The greatest information gap is in the Russian Arctic. Russia controls nearly half of the world's Arctic habitat and undoubtedly many of the world's polar bears. However, few detailed studies have occurred or are planned. Lack of funding has environmental research over most of Russia at a standstill. Limited availability of logistics support, concerns over personal safety, and political restrictions on activities in many geographic regions further inhibit studies that might be accomplished in Russia by researchers from other countries.

The inability to study polar bears in Russia and limitations in information from previous work are significant. As indicated under Management and Conservation Issues, the future of polar bears in Russia may be less secure than in any other jurisdiction. Contamination of bears in portions of the Russian Arctic is high. Poaching is thought to be on the increase, and dramatic increases in harvest could result from the current economic unrest and absence of regulatory capacity. Some of the highest density maternal denning areas in the world are within Russian boundaries. The earliest work on maternal denning of polar bears was done by Soviet scientists. All of that work preceded the development of modern telemetry and other new technologies. Hence, those findings are dated and not directly comparable with current studies in other jurisdictions. The limited telemetry data from Russia has precluded discovery of new denning areas there. Large concentration areas on a few offshore islands in Russia have been known by conventional observations for decades. Much of the Russian Arctic, however, has a long linear coastline similar to that of Alaska. Scattered denning undoubtedly occurs there. Also, the long linear coast, as in Alaska, may encourage denning in the heavy offshore pack-ice. No denning studies are being conducted. Although specific local threats to polar bears in Russia are not known, uncertainties with regard to population status there are clearly significant and beg for better understanding.