9
identified as a key area for recovery of the endangered bear species.
13
Now, 20 years after the recovery plan was
written, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are embarking on an important public
process to explore options for recovering grizzly bears in the North Cascades
14
.
Despite anecdotal reports of grizzlies in the North Cascades, no population or individual has been confirmed in the
area since 1996
15
. Based on expert opinion and a database of sightings, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believe
there are fewer than 20 grizzly bears remaining in Washington's North Cascades ecosystem
16
. As of 2012, the
British Columbia Ministry of Environment estimates there are six grizzly bears in the Canadian North Cascades
17
.
In 2010, with oversight from the North Cascades Interagency Grizzly Bear Subcommittee, the Cascade Carnivore
Connectivity Project (CCCP) and other project partners began an extensive survey to detect grizzlies potentially
occupying Washington's North Cascades Ecosystem (NCE)
18
. The efforts of the CCCP covered approximately 25%
of the NCE and did not detect photographic or genetic evidence of grizzly bears in the study area. Continued
monitoring in the area assists the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in evaluating options
for grizzly bear recovery in the region. CWMP's effort to detect grizzly bears in the NCE was designed to
complement the work already carried out by the CCCP. Survey locations are selected based on the sampling
model created by CCCP and the sampling method they employed based on the "hair corral" described by Kendall
and McKelvey (2008).
19
CWMP's field protocol adapted these methods to focus on simple detection using remote
camera data rather than DNA analysis based on genetic sample (hair) collection. CCCP's primary research
objectives were to collect information on the genetic structure of carnivore populations in the NCE and to detect
grizzly bears and other rare carnivores. CWMP's primary research goal is detection of grizzly bears.
I-90 CORRIDOR MONITORING
I-90 acts as a major barrier to wildlife traveling north and south in the Cascades. Results from a large-scale
connectivity analysis designate a narrow corridor along Interstate 90 to be particularly crucial for wildlife
13
Servheen, C. 1997. Grizzly bear recovery plan: North Cascades ecosystem recovery plan chapter. U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. Missoula, MT.
14
North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan/Environmental Impact Statement:
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectId=44144
15
http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/endangered/species/grizzly_bear.pdf
16
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species Assessment and Listing Priority Assignment Form:
http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/species/uplisting/doc4748.pdf
17
British Columbia Grizzly Bear Population Estimate for 2012:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/docs/Grizzly_Bear_Pop_Est_Report_Final_2012.pdf
18
Cascades Carnivore Connectivity Project Grizzly Bear Survey:
http://www.cascadesconnectivity.org/research/grizzly-bear-survey/
19
Long, R.A., J.S. Begley, P. MacKay, W.L. Gaines, and A.J. Shirk. 2013. The Cascades Carnivore Connectivity
Project: A landscape genetic assessment of connectivity for carnivores in Washington's North Cascades Ecosystem.
Final report for the Seattle City Light Wildlife Research Program, Seattle, Washington. Western Transportation
Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman. 57 pp. and Kendall, K.C., and K.S. McKelvey. 2008. Hair collection.
Pages 141–182 in Long, R. A., P. MacKay, W. J. Zielinski, and J. C. Ray, editors. Noninvasive survey methods for
carnivores. Island Press, Washington, D.C.
