Conservation Northwest

8 Fall 2014 conservationnw.org Feature: Coast to Cascades Blackwater-West Blackwater-West Chilcotin Chilcotin Toba- Bute Toba- Bute Klinaklini- Homathko Klinaklini- Homathko DWdW_ce I[Y^[bj Chase Gunnell Communications manager, cgunnell@conservationnw.org Grizzly bears have lived in Washing- ton's Cascade Mountains for thousands of years, and a small population still hangs by a thread in the wildlands where North Cascades National Park meets the Canadian border. ey may soon be getting some help. e National Park Service announced this summer a three-year process to assess impacts and a range of alternatives to de- termine whether grizzly bears should be restored to the North Cascades ecosys- tem in Washington state. e National Park Service said it will begin develop- ing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) this fall. is announcement kick starts a public process that will explore the different options for recovery of the threatened grizzly bear population in the North Cascades. "e Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan calls on us to fully consider the resto- ration of the grizzly bear in the North Cascades, and the process ensures we solicit the public for their input before putting any plan into action," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. "We will work together with the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Ser- vice, state of Washington, and the public as we move through the EIS process." "is is huge news, for the Pacific Northwest and for grizzly bears," said Joe Scott of Conservation Northwest. "It marks the potential turning point in the decade's long decline of the last grizzly bears remaining on the U.S. West Coast." "Without recovery efforts, these bears may soon be gone forever. is week's announcement renews hope that this wilderness icon will roam the North Cascades for generations to come." recovery Planning for Cascades Grizzly Bears NeWS We'Ve BeeN WaITING For e North Cascades Grizzly Bear Recovery Area , with nearly 10,000 square miles—stretching from I-90 north to the Canadian border and in- cluding North Cascades National Park and portions of the surrounding nation- al forests —is one of largest blocks of wild federal land remaining in the lower 48 states. And it's the only federally des- ignated grizzly bear recovery area out- side the greater Rocky Mountains. "Having grizzly bears in the Cas- cades is part of our region's heritage and identity, and the Tulalip people have long held a cultural connection with these bears. It would be tragic to lose those connections," said state Senator John McCoy, D-Marysville. "We must act before they are gone for good." e agencies leading the EIS of pos- sible recovery efforts stress that a range of alternatives will be considered, and local communities, residents and stake- holders will have opportunities for in- put on the recovery plan going forward. Keeping grizzly bears in and around North Cascades National Park protects this great natural legacy for generations to come, said Rob Smith, Northwest Regional Director for National Parks Conservation Association. "Millions of people live within minutes of this spec- tacular piece of wild America, and that's worth protecting." If the North Cascades grizzly popu- lation is successfully recovered, the region will once again have healthy populations of all the native predators that were present prior to the turn of the nineteenth century, something pos- sible in very few places in the continen- tal U.S. "This is huge news for Cas- cades grizzly bears. It marks the turning point for the last grizzly bears remaining on the U.S. West Coast. With- out recovery efforts, these bears may soon be gone for- ever." –Conservation North- west's Joe Scott Mother grizzly and cubs in Washington's "Wedge" area in 2012. Photo: WDFW

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