The National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) are now accepting public comments on a proposal to restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades in Washington. The agencies are also accepting comments on a proposed Section 10(j) rule under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to provide more flexibility in grizzly bear management.
“Grizzly bears occupied the North Cascades for thousands of years as an essential part of the ecosystem, distributing native plant seeds and keeping other wildlife populations in balance,” the agencies said. “In the 20th century, humans nearly hunted them to extinction in the area. The last confirmed sighting of a grizzly bear in the U.S. portion of the North Cascades Ecosystem was in 1996.”
Proposed alternatives
The agencies released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on Sept. 28, detailing three options to restore grizzly bear populations in the North Cascades. A “no action” alternative is included in the options, which would continue existing management practices. Two other alternatives would allow for bear restoration but differ in how populations could be managed.
Under both action alternatives, the agencies anticipate releasing three to seven grizzly bears into the North Cascades Ecosystem each year over a period of five to 10 years, with the goal of establishing a population of 25 bears before switching to adaptive management.
One of the agencies’ proposed action alternatives is to create a nonessential experimental population of grizzly bears under Section 10(j) of the ESA. This option would give communities and land managers more flexibility in managing bears, including the ability to deter, relocate or remove bears involved in conflict. This is the agencies’ preferred alternative.
Under the other action alternative, grizzly bears would be managed as a threatened species under Section 4(d) of the ESA. This option would allow taking of bears only under specific circumstances, such as defense of life.
The agencies are soliciting separate comments for the general restoration of the bears and the more specific use of the Section 10(j) alternative.
“If this part of our natural heritage is restored, it should be done in a way that ensures communities, property, and the animals can all coexist peacefully,” said Hugh Morrison, USFWS regional director. “A 10(j) experimental designation could provide the tools to do that.”
Plan pushback
The Congressional Western Caucus condemned the agencies’ announcement. “The National Parks Service and Fish and Wildlife Service should end this process immediately by rescinding the draft EIS and proposed 10(j) rule,” said Chairman Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04). “The introduction of grizzlies into the North Cascades would be devastating for our North Central Washington communities.”
The caucus said the North Cascades grizzly bear plan was first proposed by the Obama administration, and that central Washington communities near the national park were not provided adequate opportunities to give input on the proposal.
In 2022, NPS and USFWS announced the initiation of an EIS process to evaluate options for restoring and managing grizzly bear populations. The caucus said over 6,200 comments were received on the initial draft, with the vast majority coming from outside of Washington state.
Upcoming meetings
A virtual meeting and two in-person meetings will be held on the EIS and the proposed 10(j) rule. The virtual meeting will take place on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. PT and can be accessed at tinyurl.com/9tu3cj29. The first in-person meeting will be held Oct. 30 at 5:30 p.m. PT at the Okanogan County Fairgrounds in Okanogan, WA. The second in-person meeting will be held Nov. 1 at Currier Hall in Newhalem, WA, at 5:30 p.m. PT. For more information on the public meetings, visit tinyurl.com/2wp6tdeu.
Comments are being accepted through Nov. 13 and must be submitted separately for each proposal.
To submit a comment for the draft EIS online, visit tinyurl.com/yc2925h6, or mail hard copy comments to Superintendent, North Cascades National Park Service Complex, 810 State Route 20, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284.
To submit comments on the proposed 10(j) rule, visit tinyurl.com/5n7enw69, or mail hard copy comments to Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–R1–ES–2023–0074, Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275, Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
