When the federal government decided to translocate grizzly bears to the North Cascades, it was not a popular decision with most local residents. This column explained some of the “why.” The background reading will take you deeper. With many thanks to Steve Busch for sharing his research notes with me.
REFERENCE LINKS AND EXCERPTS:
Original column: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/may/09/sue-lani-madsen-nobody-asked-the-grizzly-bears/
KUOW reporting on the one public meeting held in Okanogan County: https://www.kuow.org/stories/keep-grizzly-bears-out-washington-residents-say/
“I don’t know what good these meetings do because we keep on going to meetings and meetings, and nothing ever goes our way.”
Northwest News Network on the one public meeting held in Okanogan County: https://www.nwnewsnetwork.org/environment-and-planning/2023-11-01/many-people-in-okanogan-county-say-dont-bring-in-grizzlies
From a resident perspective: “We’ll take the ones that come. Don’t damn bring them in a trailer,” said Rachel McClure, with the Okanogan County Cattlemen’s Association.”
From an agency perspective: “We have a unique opportunity in the North Cascades with this thing called the 10(j) (rule) – it’s a larger toolbox you can use more often and earlier. If a bear finds itself in a place where it might get in trouble, you can preemptively, in certain circumstances, move that bear,” said Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Andrew Lavelle.”
Grizzly Wolf Discovery Center: https://www.grizzlydiscoveryctr.org/animals/the-bears
One example on what happens to a bear that gets into trouble, from the Grizzly Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana: “Coram began boldly walking through town and finding non natural foods from residential areas. He didn't forget that easy food source. Once he and his family left the den in the spring, he headed right into town again. He was trapped and moved for the second time in may. More reports came in about a bear walking up onto people's porches and getting into dog food. When it turned out that the three-year old bear had been trapped in town a third time, wildlife managers had to face the fact that this bear was not going to learn and would have to be removed from the wild.”
Lewis and Clark Journal (spelling uncorrected): https://lewis-clark.org/sciences/mammals/bears/grizzly-bear-encounters/
On 28 June 1805, at their camp at the upstream end of the portage around the falls of the Missouri, Lewis complained:
The White bear have become so troublesome to us that I do not think it prudent to send one man alone on an errand of any kind, particularly where he has to pass through the brush. we have seen two of them on the large Island opposite to us today but are so much engaged that we could not spare the time to hunt them, but will make a frolick of it when the party return and drive them from these islands. they come close arround our camp every night but have never yet ventured to attack us and our dog gives us timely notice of their visits, he keeps constantly padroling all night. I have made the men sleep with their arms by them as usual for fear of accedents.
Salmon Poisoning Disease: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180705110039.htm
“Salmon in the northwestern continental US often carry a fluke containing bacteria that can produce a deadly disease in bears called salmon poisoning disease (SPD). Current recovery plans for grizzly bears in the North Cascades of Washington and the mountains of central Idaho, where infected salmon currently occur, call for using bears from several interior populations; however, a new study reveals that such bears with no history of salmon consumption are likely sensitive to SPD.”
Referring to the Journal of Wildlife Management, findings indicated that identifying a source of bears that would be resistant to SPD may be difficult.
"We are hopeful that the bears used in the initial restoration effort will feed exclusively on terrestrial-based foods as there are currently very few salmon returning to the North Cascades; however, any bear that moves into lower elevation areas where they might consume salmon will be closely monitored," said lead author Dr. Charles Robbins, of Washington State University. "If they eat salmon containing the bacteria, we suspect they will get sick. We are hopeful that they will be able to recover."
Journal of Wildlife Management referenced above: https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.21502
“Wildlife restoration programs depend on having animals that have evolved to handle the constraints, including disease, posed by the new environment.”
Everett Herald article on mountain goat translocation lack of success:
High Country News reporting on natural recovery unexpected in the Rockies: https://www.hcn.org/articles/bears-in-the-northern-rockies-grizzly-bears-are-on-the-move/
“In the Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems, bears that have been isolated from one another for more than 100 years are venturing out of their respective regions, slowly reclaiming old territory.
The grizzly bear, despite what most people think, isn’t a species unto itself. Rather, it’s one of two living subspecies of brown bear found in North America, the other being the Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi) in Alaska. Grizzlies (Ursus arctos horribilis) once ranged as far south as central Mexico, where they were known as oso plateado, silvery bears, for their grayish fur. An estimated 50,000 grizzly bears lived in the contiguous United States when the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through in the early 1800s.”
OTHER REPORTING:
The Center Square: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_d7ea0d40-0bdf-11ef-833d-c3fb8b0a1116.html
“To restore the bears to the North Cascades, the federal agencies will undergo a translocation process that will bring in grizzlies from other ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains or interior British Columbia, according to a spokesman for the National Park Service who spoke Monday with The Center Square.”
The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/grizzlies-are-returning-to-was-north-cascades-how-will-that-work/
(Note: The author managed to write an entire story on “how that will work” without mentioning once the humans who live in and around the grizzly recovery areas.)
The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/feds-greenlight-return-of-grizzlies-to-was-north-cascades/
(Note: Same author as above, only interviewed two humans, neither of whom live in the recovery area – one man from USFWS (office in Lacey WA) and a man from Upper Skagit Tribe. That tribe currently is centered near Sedro-Wooley; no interview reported with people living where the bears are to be planted.
The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/tribes-first-nations-chart-path-for-grizzlies-return-to-pnw/ Different reporter for the Seattle Times writing in November 2023 says not all tribes on board, one tribe closer to the North Cascades objects:
“About 43 miles downstream, the 300-person Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe is nestled in the foothills of the North Cascades near the lumber town of Darrington and next to the Sauk River, where leaders waved from the grassy banks near their homes to fishermen paddling an inflatable boat.
The tribe has been vocal in opposition to the reintroduction of grizzlies.
“They love feasting on the spawning grounds,” Chair Nino Maltos II said. “The spawning grounds happen to be right behind where a lot of us live.”
Yukon to Yellowstone Conservation Initiative: Check out the map of the area to be rewilded at https://y2y.net/. It skirts right up against the Spokane metro area.
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