The Biden administration announced a proposal to reintroduce grizzly bear populations in the federally managed North Cascades National Park in northern Washington.
The proposal – published in a federal filing Friday morning by the National Park Service (NPS) and the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) – includes three options, two of which would involve actively restoring populations of threatened apex predator species and a “no action” alternative. which will maintain current management practices. As part of the announcement, the public is invited to comment until mid-November.
“If this part of our natural heritage is to be restored, it must be done in a way that ensures communities, property, and animals can all coexist peacefully,” Hugh Morrison, regional FWS director, said in a statement.
Under Friday’s plan, the NPS and FWS will release up to seven grizzly bears annually into the North Cascades ecosystem over the next five to 10 years. The administration’s overall goal is to establish a grizzly bear population of about 200 within the next decade.
According to the announcement, grizzly bears occupy the North Cascades and have served as an “important part of the ecosystem” for thousands of years. However, in the 20th century, as a result of aggressive hunting practices, the species was almost extinct and the last confirmed sighting of a grizzly bear in the North Cascades ecosystem was in 1996.
“The National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service should end this process immediately by canceling the draft EIS and proposed rule 10(j). The introduction of grizzlies into the North Cascades will devastate our North Central Washington communities,” said Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.
The Biden administration announced a proposal to reintroduce grizzly bear populations in the federally managed North Cascades National Park. karen crewe
“Time and time again, our community has spoken out to express strong opposition to the introduction of this apex predator, which will harm our families, wildlife and livestock,” he added. “I am deeply disappointed that the Biden administration ignored our concerns by continuing the introduction while putting up a front page to get more public input after their decision was clearly made.”
Plans to reintroduce grizzly bears to the North Cascades date back to the last few years of the Obama administration. Then, after massive state opposition led by Newhouse, the Trump administration concluded that grizzly bears would not be restored in the ecosystem.
The Biden administration announced it would review whether to continue the recovery, a process that led to the proposal on Friday.AP
Former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt stated in July 2020 that grizzly bears are not in danger of extinction and that his agency can manage populations across their existing range.
But late last year, following widespread litigation from environmental groups, the Biden administration announced it would review whether to proceed with the remediation, a process that led to Friday’s proposal.
“We have previously provided extensive comments opposing the reintroduction of grizzly bears into our local communities,” the commissioner of Chelan County, Washington, located near the North Cascades, wrote to the NPS in late 2022. “We continue to oppose the reintroduction of grizzly bears given the potential negative impact on public safety, economic development, recreational opportunities and the overall livelihoods of our rural communities.”
“The federal agency leading this effort has generally failed to address these concerns and has failed to engage in any meaningful way Chelan County and other neighboring counties in the proposed grizzly bear recovery area,” they continued in their letter.
Under the plan Friday, the NPS and FWS will release up to seven grizzly bears annually into the North Cascades ecosystem over the next five to 10 years.SergeYatunin
In addition, the Washington Cattlemen’s Association, the National Beef Association and the Public Lands Council have opposed reintroducing grizzly bears to the region because of the species’ potential to adversely affect cattle.
But environmental groups supported the proposal Friday, saying bears “clearly belong” in the North Cascades.
“I’m pleased to see that plans to restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades are moving forward,” said Andrea Zaccardi, director of carnivore conservation law at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Grizzly bears once thrived in the North Cascades, and this is a good step to bring grizzlies back into this vast wilderness where they clearly belong.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
