Gov. Sean Parnell announced today that the state's 2011 budget will include $1 million to fund the fight against what he dubs "misuse" of the Endangered Species Act.

The state opposes listing polar bears as a threatened species, arguing that "resource development jobs in Alaska face a serious threat from environmental groups." It is also intervening in a lawsuit to block commercial salmon fishing near endangered humpback whales, and is "responding to petitions regarding other species and proposed designations of critical habitat," Parnell announced today.

Parnell said in 2011 the Department of Law will have funding to hire an additional staff attorney specifically dedicated to ESA issues, and the state will also budget an extra $800,000 for outside legal help. An assistant Attorney General position will cost the state about $200,000 for pay and benefits, according to governor's spokesperson Sharon Leighhow.

"The Endangered Species Act is not a land-planning tool," Parnell said during a speech today at the Resource Development Council, adding, "we'll take Alaska's fight to the mat."

The move is "a waste of the state's resources" and "motivated by politics rather than science," said Rebecca Noblin, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity in Anchorage. The organization successfully petitioned to list the polar bear as threatened, and has petitioned for similar findings on the Pacific walrus, Cook Inlet belugas and four species of ice seals.

Noblin said she's not worried about more money and muscle coming into the fight.

"We have science on our side, and when it comes down to it decisions on the Endangered Species Act have to be made on the best available science," she said.

Over tough opposition from conservation groups and several Arctic communities, Shell Oil last month received conditional approval for an exploration project in the Beaufort Sea. Endangered bowhead whales migrate there, and the waters are also home to the polar bears, walruses and seals already feeling the effects of climate change, Noblin said, adding that "industrializing their habitat can only make it worse."

Shell is also seeking approval for exploration in the Chukchi Sea. With a decision looming from the interior department, today Alaska's Congressional delegation -- Rep. Don Young and Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich -- issued a joint letter of support for the project .

Contact Jill Burke at jill_alaskadispatch.com.