Conservation Northwest

Keeping the Northwest wild Summer 2016 7 The area within the black boundary is the North Cascades Grizzly bear Recovery Zone, covering nearly 10,000 square miles of mostly national park and national forest lands in Washington, as well as additional wildlands in British Columbia. Map: National Park Service, USFWS berry producing shrubs, such as huckleberries (of which there are seven species in the North Cas- cades), salmonberry, red bilberry, choke-cherry, bitter cherry, and many more. We also found that some habitats were especially rich in bear foods, such as lush wet meadows or avalanche chutes, both of which are plentiful in the North Cascades. What about insects ? Would they be a large part of a grizzly bear's diet here, and if so what types of insects? Typically insects are not a large part of a bear's overall diet, though they may be of local or sea- sonal importance. We have documented insects in the diets of black bears in the North Cascades, especially ants. In other ecosystems, army cutworm moths can be an important food source. We have done some limited surveys for army cutworm moths in the North Cascades and found a few sites where they are concentrated. However, without local research on grizzly bear diets, we don't really know how important these moths may be. Legend North Cascades Ecosystem ! ! ! ! ! Seattle Cle Elum Winthrop Wenatchee Bellingham ! Cities Major Interstates and Highways North Cascades Ecosystem Water Protected Areas (British Columbia) Canada Land Ownership Tribal US Bureau of Land Management US Fish and Wildlife Service US Forest Service US National Park Service State Lands 0 10 20 30 Miles ¯ Canada Washington Oregon Idaho Canada Washington I-5 BC-99 I-90 Vancouver Okanogan e North Cascades has an amazing diversity of wildlands, from rugged al- pine basins to dry pine forests. What sort of habitat would a grizzly bear be expected to use each season in the North Cascades? Typically, grizzly bears den at higher elevations where snow cover is substan- tial. ey might be expected to leave their den between mid-March and mid- April, and move down to lower eleva- tions that are snow free. is is the time of year they might feed on winter-killed deer and elk or take an occasional fawn or elk calf. So, for a time in the spring they are down in some relatively low country, and on the east side this is rela- tively dry country. As spring progresses into early summer we'd expect bears to move into higher elevations, taking advantage of roots, tubers, and plants that are growing aer the snow recedes. Plants such as spring beauties and ava- lanche lilies. By midsummer, some of the early shrub fruits will start to come on, such as service berry, mountain ash, elderberry, and others. As summer pro- gresses, more of the shrub fruits come on and we'd expect grizzly bears to move into the high elevations to feed in those high-elevation huckleberry meadows. ey'd likely stay in these areas late into the summer and fall for as long as the berries are available. Some bears may move down to lower elevations to take advantage of fall salmon runs. Fall is an important time for bears as they are putting on weight in the form of fat to get through the long winter denning pe- riod. ey need places with concentrat- ed food resources and they may forage throughout the day and night to get the needed calories. Generally, the moister productive habitats that occur on or near the crest of the North Cascades are the most pro- ductive and likely to be highly used by grizzly bears. Fortunately, we have an abundance of these habitats, and many occur in national park and wilderness areas where bears can also find places away from roads, campgrounds, and urban areas. at combination of really high quality habitats in really remote ar- eas makes the North Cascades relatively unique in the lower 48 states and is a pri- mary reason that grizzly bear recovery is being pursued here. I s t h e r e a n y t h i n g e l s e p e o p l e should know about why the North Cascades are high-quality grizzly habitat? e diversity of elevation zones and moisture gradient work together to cre- ate a wide diversity of vegetation types and habitats. For example, the North Cascades National Park contains 1,630 vascular plants species, the most of any park in the national park system! It is this diversity that creates such amazing habitats for bears and other wildlife. In addition, the abundance of wild areas, really rugged and remote, provide the opportunity for bears to find really good habitats and be in places that limit their exposure to people. Restoring grizzly bears

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