In 1993, the US Fish and Wildlife Service issued a Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan that identified six locations that may provide suitable habitat for the grizzly bear, currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.  One of these sites, the North Cascades system is located in North-Western Washington State.   During the final years of the Obama Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service (Agencies) began preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to reestablish grizzly bears in the area.  They are nearing the completion of the study with plans to release the Final EIS fall of 2017.

April 24, 2017, the Counties of Chelan, Skagit and Okanogan hosted the first joint coordination meeting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service on the potential introduction of grizzly bears into the North Cascades system. The Agencies failed to seek meaningful coordination prior to the preparation of the DEIS.  Had they done so, they would have learned earlier how the potential introductions of grizzly bears conflicts with the Counties Comprehensive Plans.  They would have also been informed early in the process that there were important peer reviewed studies that should have been considered to properly analyze the impacts on the communities.  These were presented to them during the coordination meeting as well as other critical findings regarding the sufficiency of the environmental analysis.  Some of these findings are:

1. The last confirmed siting of a grizzly bear in the North Cascades was 21 years ago, and the antidotal data referred to as proof there once was a viable grizzly bear population, is unreliable. The new normal for this area is that it supports a robust hunting, fishing and backpacking population (estimated 8 million visitor days per year), as well as essential agricultural industries. The North Cascades hosts a vibrant community of people who live, work and play in this area, activities that are not compatible with grizzly bears and in fact will attract the bears into the populated areas.

2. The Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan identifying the North Cascades as potential habitat for the bear was last revised in 1993. A supplemental plan for the North Cascades was added in 1997, but contained no new science. Although the plan was based on the best available science at that time, the understanding of bear behavior is far more advanced today.  There are now several peer reviewed studies that track bear movements in other recovery zones using modern GPS technology.  These more recent studies provide superior insight into the habitats bears seek for forage and shelter, as well as their interactions with humans.  A revised Recovery Plan should have been prepared prior to the development of the EIS for the North Cascades, incorporating the latest science.

3. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) also fails to incorporate this new data into its analysis. It fails to properly note and consider the multiple and significant human fatalities in other bear habitat areas.

4. The agencies failed to consider the local plans, policies and programs when preparing its analysis. As a result, they have omitted significant direct and indirect impacts to the communities, and have not properly analyzed how transplanting bears into the North Cascades would harm the Counties ability to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens.

5. The plan to introduce the grizzly bear into the North Cascades is based on the Agency goal to recover the bear in an area they believe it once lived. However, the Endangered Species Act does not require recovery in all the historical habitat, rather the question that should be asked is whether a population in the North Cascades is essential to the continued existence of the bear.

You can watch the first coordination meeting by clicking on the link in the April 24, 2017 meeting minutes.

On August 7, 2017, Chelan, Skagit and Okanogan Counties sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Zinke requesting that he remove the North Cascades from the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan.