Federal agencies decide to restore grizzlies to North Cascades

Grizzly bears will be reintroduced to the North Cascades National Park, finalizing a long effort to bring the species back to the rugged mountains.

“We are going to once again see grizzly bears on the landscape, restoring an important thread in the fabric of the North Cascades,” Don Striker, superintendent of the national park complex, said in a statement.

The plan is to gradually relocate a few bears each year from the Rocky Mountains or interior British Columbia to the region from Snoqualmie Pass to the Canada border. The last confirmed sighting of a grizzly bear in the U.S. portion of the North Cascades was in 1996.

Grizzlies had been part of the ecosystem for millennia until they were nearly hunted to extinction during the early 1900s.

Tribes and conservation groups praised the decision Thursday, calling it a triumph.

“The Upper Skagit celebrates this decision for the great bear, the environment and everyone who desires a return to a healthy Indigenous ecosystem,” Scott Schuyler, a policy representative for the Upper Skagit Tribe, said in a statement. “We urge the agencies to move forward and put paws on the ground so the recovery may begin.”

At nearly 9,800 square miles, the recovery zone is larger than the state of New Jersey and includes North Cascades National Park and other wilderness areas that feature icy peaks deep valleys.

The agencies plan to move three to seven grizzly bears per year for five to 10 years to establish an initial population of 25 bears, according to the restoration plan.

Young bears between 2 and 5 years old that have not reproduced and have no history of conflict with humans would be selected for capture and reintroduction. A higher ratio of females will be selected to facilitate faster breeding.

The bears will be fitted with radio collars so wildlife managers can monitor their movements.

The recovery goal for the North Cascades is a population of 200 bears. Reaching that level could take 60 to 100 years, according to the environmental analysis, because grizzlies are among the slowest reproducing mammals in the world.

Bears would be released in remote wilderness areas on park service or forest service lands, including areas within the Stephen Mather, Pasayten and Glacier Peak wilderness areas.

There is no set timeline for when relocations will begin.

The directors of the park service and fish and wildlife service signed the decision this week, a month after releasing the proposed restoration plan and final environmental impact statement.

Drafts of the environmental analysis and a rule designating the population as experimental were released for public comment last fall. More than 12,000 comments were received by the end of the comment period in November.

Grizzly bears in the Lower 48 are protected under the Endangered Species Act. However, the bears reintroduced in the Cascades will have a “nonessential experimental population” designation, which gives wildlife officials more options for killing or relocating bears that have run-ins with people and livestock.

This was an important compromise for long-term success of the program, said Gordon Congdon, a retired Wenatchee orchardist and a member of the Friends of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear who advocates locally for the bear’s return. Cooperation with local residents is essential.

“Together, we can live with grizzlies,” Congdon said. “They have been doing so in Montana for a long time.”

The key to living peacefully with these new neighbors will be public outreach and education.

“We haven’t had grizzlies here for a long time, so people are a little cautious about an animal they don’t know well,” Congdon said.

The most important thing for residents to do is secure their garbage, he said.

For hikers and campers, the advice is similar to what they should already do for black bears. Keep food away and secure. Avoid surprising bears by staying aware of surroundings, making noise and hiking in groups when possible.

“Hopefully before I die,” Congdon said, “I will be able to see a grizzly bear in the North Cascades.”