The National Park Service is reevaluating former grizzly bear reintroduction plans for the Cascade mountains in Washington state. If the plan is approved, Washington’s Cascade Mountain range will see grizzlies reintroduced to the region.
“…the plan could bring in 5 to 10 bears every year, with the hope of reaching a population of 25 — a “minuscule” number…”
Now, I could offer you an opinion filled diatribe about why or why not this is a good idea. Afterall, I live and recreate in grizzly bear country and know the realities of “coexisting” with the big bears. However, I will defer to the federal government on this one, afterall, they know best. Just look at how much the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is benefitting from its “miniscule” grizzly rehabilitation or its “miniscule” wolf reintroduction.
“Grizzlies are “nature’s gardeners,” spreading nutrients and seeds and helping the ecosystem, said Kathleen Callaghy, Northwest field representative for Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation group.
“If you protect their welfare, then the welfare of the ecosystem tends to go along with them,” Callaghy said.”
I’m sure the residents of Washington state will benefit deeply from any reintroduction of “nature’s gardeners”. The National Park Service would never make a judgment error or mistake. Do the math, follow the science…
“It probably would then take about a century to reach a population of 200 or more bears. In the greater Yellowstone region, the grizzly population was estimated at 728 in 2019, according to the Park Service.
“We hope that we get to that point where federal managers and wildlife biologists can start moving bears in here. It’s not an easy process,” Scott said. “We’d be ecstatic if we had a reasonable expectation that we’d have 200 bears in this place 50, 60, 80 years from now.”’
200 bears? A century? What happened to a population objective of a “miniscule” 25 bears? It did not take a decade for the population of GYE grizzlies to outstrip the goal of 500 bears and for those of us who live here, 728 feels like a pretty low estimate.
Don’t get me wrong, I love grizzly bears, they are spectacular animals and I enjoy having them on the landscape BUT they must be managed, just like deer, elk and wolves. And that brings us to the real issue at hand… the wholesale elimination of hunting of any kind.
Look at Petition 13 in Oregon which claims that hunting and hunters are no longer a relevant piece of wildlife management thanks to apex predator reintroduction. I’ve been saying for years that this is the endgame of the anti-hunting/environmentalist/green new deal faction, they want to end ALL hunting at ALL costs, but the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation has kept them at bay because they don’t have a say thanks to Pittman Robertson monies. Well, with the recent inclusion of these radicals in wildlife management discussions they are being legitimized and gaining ground on their goals of the elimination of all hunting and this is being done in good faith under the umbrella of inclusivity.
Well, so much for not penning an opinion piece. I’m passionate about hunting, the values it imparts, its traditions, how it benefits animals and the environment as a whole and having it around to be passed down to future generations, aka, my kids. So, if I get fired up over yet another scheme to eliminate hunting disguised as a reintroduction program or ecological diversification, you’ll have to forgive me! I was born in the 1900s and therefore don’t understand science or how the world functions.
I’ll be in the corner, discuss amongst yourselves…
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16 comments
Anyone who spends the amount of time hunters do in the field is well acquainted with the devastation caused by apex predators. Their population grows mush more rapidly than the “experts” forecast thus expanding their range.
There’s no reason to wax on about the proven results of wildlife management through hunting.
I think it’s also important to point out that the Pittman Robertson Act has recently come under attack with an effort to repeal this important legislation.
HUNTING IS CONSERVATION
So now we have no spring bear season at all in Washington. Our Game Commision consists mostly of pro-predator people that think management by hunters is a thing of the past. Why not add another apex predator along with our unmanaged wolves that have decimated the game population along with range cattle in NE Washington.
Between 1987 and 2005 I encountered 4 grizzlies in eastern Washington. The closest was at 25 yards. They are all over the Salmo-Priest Wilderness. Most of what the so-called game commission and the feds for the last 3 decades are not on the right side of the truth.
It’s very simple, if the Cascade Range was adequate habitat the Grizzly Bear would already be there.
The idea of unchecked predators is hard to swallow, but……
A grizzly makes weekend wilderness people think twice about stepping out of their well protected lives to enjoy “nature”. In the long game, grizzlies could be the only thing that protects the mountains so my boys can enjoy them as I have.
You, your boys, and the rest of us will likely be dismissed from even entering a grizzly recovery zone.
No where, and I mean no where, can anyone point to the re-introduction of Apex predators as a success story. They are devastating creatures at any portion of the ecosystem. We in the USA manage apex predators ( at least we did ) to balance the scales in our national ecosystems.
Return apex predators to areas already balanced. AKA wolves, grizzly overpopulation in Rockies, and you destroy balance .
What’s natural apex predation look like.
Look at Africa. Lions prey on livestock and humans . Hyenas are devastating to smaller game. Disease and starvation, control numbers . Lack of funding to hunting intensified lion, elephant issues , conflict and poaching problems across Africa
The anti-hunting beliefs will destroy our ecosystems. Once here, they will never go away , filing suits at every turn.
If the words “ re- introduction “ are heard, Run, it’s a scam.
They shoved the wolves down our throats in Montana. Taking money from our Pittman Robertson fund to do so. Now there letting grizzlies breed like rabbits. Anyone living between Glacier Park and Yellowstone can tell you that the “professionals” have no idea how many bears are actually here. Or they’re not reporting accurate numbers. Either way, it’s beyond ridiculous that we don’t have them delisted and a season for grizzlies. But if doing away with hunting is what they’re after. Sadly, they’re off to a good start.
Montana will ship all the grizzly bears you guys want to Seattle and Olympia and the greenys and ecofreeks can deal with them
Don’t forget Mex-ifornia or as I call it now. Mexico North. The Sierra run all the way to Mexico. There several National Parks there too. So share the wealth. The Mountain Lions get a greenie now and them down in Orange County. They like to protect everything. So the Griz would have a safe place to grow old.
So grizzlies once lived there? Displaced I assume by people. I don’t think these “greenies” understand the impact of reintroducing apex predators into their old geography. They decimate the elk and deer which this has a negative impact on the flora and fauna of the region. Yes they lived in the region before but the numbers of elk and deer, the preferred prey, was exponentially larger. Lewis & Clark were amazed by the shear number of animals they saw. No more. Experienced outdoorsmen May hunt hard for a season to see any. The bears will increase through breeding and continued introduction. Not only will they have a negative impact on primary prey animals but look for bear/human contact to increase!
I also have been saying for years the predator re-introduction drive has been a clandestine effort to eliminate hunting (and then gives another argument to anti-gunners that guns aren’t needed- which is preposterous as the 2nd Amendment isn’t about hunting but the two plans are connected).
Colorado got wolves shoved down our throats too, by ignorant city dwellers that won’t be directly impacted as the wolves will be released on the western slope. The large city/population centers are on the Front Range. The talk of adding Grizzlies is being thrown around too.
We may have already reached a point of no return with this issue. Liberals have taken over every aspect of our institutions, especially education where students aren’t educated but indoctrinated, but increasingly are getting more traction with wildlife agencies, particularly wildlife commissions.
The recent election is proof of this. In spite of massive inflation, record high gas prices, rampant crime and an open border that allows deadly Fentenayl as well as millions of illegal aliens pour over the border into this country, people voted largely for liberals, who have been responsible for creating this situation. We have lost our way as a nation and our future looks bleak.
Someone or all of them are flat out lying. Having grown up in Washington and backpacked and hunted most of the Cascades for more than 6 decades I can tell you that the grizzlies ARE ALREADY THERE!
Last year I took my family to see some of the foothills on the east side in Okanogan County, near the small town of Conconully. Only a few miles from Conconully we spotted a good sized griz. When we stopped at the store in Conconully for ice cream for the grandkids, I spoke with the owner. The one we saw was ONLY ONE OF FIVE KNOWN GRIZZLIES NEAR CONCONULLY.
My wife’s family is now third generation cattle ranchers in the Pine Creek area not far from Conconully. To say they are dismayed would be a huge understatement.
Never negotiate with the environmental groups again. Fight every proposal they want. When they wanted wolves and grizzlies in Yellowstone everyone agreed to a small group and they would be managed after that. We now have thousands of wolves and they want them all over the west. Their ultimate goal is to show cute pictures if the predators until they get enough to file a lawsuit to ban hunting. The hunters saved and brought back the wildlife from commercial hunters. The environmental groups can never be trusted. Fight any proposal they want, and fight to take there money away from them.
Sadly the environmentalist groups are NGO’s so their lawsuits are, ultimately and unfairly, funded by us!
This is a bit off topic but we all need to keep our eyes on our elected officials. There was legislation introduced to repeal the Pittman Robertson Act which taxes the sale of all hunting equipment to the benefit of wildlife conservation. The only tax of which I know of that no one complains about paying. The move was defeated but will, I believe, resurrect itself.
Take all the damned Grizzlies you want from western Wyoming and drop some off in Commiefornia and the way to Washington.