Park Service seeking comment on plan to return grizzly bears to Washington

Robert Mittendorf
·2 min read
8

A plan to bring the grizzly bear back to its original range in the North Cascades and Whatcom County was released by the National Park Service, which is seeking public comment.

Grizzly bears called the North Cascades home for thousands of years, but they were nearly hunted to extinction in the last century, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a joint statement Thursday.

Grizzlies were last seen in the U.S. part of the North Cascades ecosystem in 1996.

“We are looking for the public’s help in selecting the best path forward as we evaluate grizzly bear recovery on these federal lands,” North Cascades National Park Superintendent Don Striker said.

Part of the North Cascades National Park lies in Whatcom County, and the mountain range’s snow-covered peaks can be seen from Bellingham.

Grizzlies, also called the North American brown bear, can grow to 1,200 pounds. They take their name from their silver-tipped fur, which gives them a grizzled appearance.

Once ranging across the western U.S., grizzlies now inhabit mostly Montana, Alaska and western Canada.

A grizzly bear walks through the snow at Swan Lake Flat at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming in 2021. Jim Peaco/National Park Service
A grizzly bear walks through the snow at Swan Lake Flat at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming in 2021. Jim Peaco/National Park Service

An advocacy organization called the Friends of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear praised the plan as a way to help grizzlies recover, calling it “a major step in bringing grizzly bears back” to Washington and British Columbia.

“The time has come for the grizzly bear to return to its habitat to take its place in the Indigenous ecosystem,” said Scott Schuyler, policy representative for the Upper Skagit Tribe.

Friends of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear includes groups such as Conservation Northwest, the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation.

Read the draft environmental impact statement, submit comments, and find additional information, including details about public meetings, online. The comment deadline is Nov. 13.

Submit comments on the draft environmental impact statement by mail or in person to: Office of the Superintendent, Grizzly Restoration EIS, 810 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284.