Washington
Related: About this forumShould Grizzlies be Reintroduced to the North Cascades?
By Joel Connelly
Opponents to reintroduction of the grizzly bear argue that its an apex species and so a threat to humans. They ignore the fact that humans are the apex species that has eliminated ursus horribilis from 95 percent of its onetime habitat in the lower 48 states. A grizzly bear may decorate Californias state flag, but the last grizz in the Golden Bear State was shot a century ago.
The National Park Service has just released a 199-page environmental impact statement recommending that grizzlies be reintroduced to the North Cascades, where the last confirmed siting was south of Glacier Peak in 1996. The last grizzly kill was up Fisher Creek in 1964, four years before creation of the North Cascades National Park complex. Awkwardly, a grizzly just apparently killed two campers in Canadas Banff National Park.
The U.S. and Canadian portions of the greater North Cascades Ecosystem constitute a large block of contiguous habitat that spans the international border but is isolated from grizzly bear populations in other parts of the two countries, the NPS concluded. It found the expanse of wildlands has a carrying capacity of 280 bears but aims to initially relocate and sustain a population of 25 grizzlies, letting it build naturally.
Two growing populations of grizzlies are currently found in the lower 48, in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and in the Northern Rockies around Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Isolated, endangered populations hang on in the Cabinet Mountains of Montana. The southern Selkirk Mountains of northeast Washington and northern Idaho see an occasional transient grizzly crossing from British Columbia. A transient is a helluva thing to call a grizzly in its historic habitat.
https://www.postalley.org/2023/10/06/should-grizzlies-be-reintroduced-to-the-north-cascades/
2naSalit
(92,481 posts)I know that we all think of these bears as being mountain creatures but that is not the case. Our two bear types in the lower 48 states are black bears and grizzly bears, one evolved in the forests and mountains and the other is basically a grassland/steppe inhabitant.
Black bear (Ursus americanus) is a forest animal, this is evident in it's agility in climbing trees and the claws on the front paws are designed for such. They are ubiquitous in some areas but are as dangerous as grizzly bears though some think they are less of a threat. Their ability to climb trees to avoid threats may be why they are not seen as aggressive as other bear species.
Grizzly bear (Ursus horibilis) is basically a grassland/steppe creature evidenced by it's body characteristics, such as long claws and large shoulder muscles making the distinctive hump on the upper back, adapted to digging and moving large objects like rocks and trees. Though they have much longer claws on their front paws, they can climb trees as well as a black black bear. The aggressive nature of this species probably developed by the lack of places to hide from threats.
So if they are reintroduced to a mountainous area, will there be critical habitat assigned to allow for them to migrate out of the mountains? That's what is happening here in Montana, the bears are spreading out into the flatlands and some folks are getting upset.
msongs
(70,137 posts)ret5hd
(21,320 posts)Maybe. Maybe.
Bayard
(24,145 posts)Screaming about how the bears will kill all their cattle.
montanacowboy
(6,288 posts)no matter what
sad but true
regnaD kciN
(26,570 posts)...I'm none-too-enthusiastic about the possibilities of encountering a grizzly the next time I'm on a trail. Sorry, but general environmental concerns take a back seat to not wanting to be eaten. And, frankly, the backlash you're going to see up here the first time a tourist or hiker gets killed by a grizzly is not only going to go against the NPS, but against "liberal environmentalists" who "think bears deserve to live more than humans."
This move makes as much sense as stocking the waters off the southern California beaches with Great White Sharks.