Grizzly bears won’t be introduced to the North Cascades after all.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Park Service (NPS) have terminated the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposal to reintroduce grizzly bears to the North Cascades in Washington.
The decision was immediately met with criticism from environmental groups and lawsuits challenging the agencies’ ruling.
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a lawsuit against the decision July 21, asserting the agencies did not release public records on the termination of the introduction proposal.
“The secrecy surrounding this issue has persisted for years, and it’s mind-boggling that the Interior Department has taken its anti-wildlife agenda to this level,” said an attorney with CBD. “Our suit aims to get to the bottom of the administration’s distorted priorities on grizzlies and other imperiled species.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association applauded the agencies’ decision to terminate the plan.
“Ranchers and public lands users in these communities face overwhelming losses and impacts from huge gray wolf populations, and when paired with the economic hardship of the coronavirus pandemic, the introduction of yet another apex-predator would prove devastating,” said Kaitlynn Glover, NCBA executive director of natural resources and Public Lands Council executive director.
Background
The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range and encompass around 95,000 square miles in north central Washington. CBD claims fewer than 2,000 grizzly bears are found in five isolated populations in the northern Rocky Mountains and North Cascades.
USFWS and NPS initiated a public scoping period in February 2015 to prepare an EIS for the plan to bring grizzly bears into the North Cascades. A draft EIS was released for public comment January 2017 and a number of public meetings were held during the public review. An additional public review and comment period was held on the draft EIS in October 2019.
The proposal to develop a grizzly bear restoration plan was discontinued and the EIS was terminated July 10. CBD’s lawsuit gives the agencies 30 days from July 21 to respond to a Freedom of Information Act requested in December 2017. — Anna Miller, WLJ editor
