[iron]

SF: either you're new to the area, or don't recall, but there was a supposed grizzly sighting at cascade pass several years ago. while the bear was later determined to be a black bear (years after the photo), the policy changes which were immediately implemented still exist and have even expanded: https://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/backcountry-food-canister-policy.htm https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/monogram-lake (note bear can policy). my issue isn't carrying 1 bear can (which is fine for, what, 3 days of food for a person), it's when you have to carry 2/3/4 of them and possibly have a young family in tow. post a picture of your backpack that carries that load, the size of your quads that show how you're deftly able to haul that up off trail, rugged terrain, and i will humbly bow down to you and will never question your authority.

[SwitchbackFisher]

[Pahoehoe]

So, basically, Iron, you feel that you should not be inconvenienced by bears in their historical habitat? BTW, the IGBC does certify the ursack as a bear proof container. A good bear hang is also effective, and most backcountry campsites in GNP have bear wires that are not expensive to install. Glacier does not allow camping outside of designated backcountry camp grounds in most places but that is to manage people, not animals.

[iron]

[kvpair]

I just got back from a backpack trip to Denali. No shortage of bears there. We took all of the usual precautions - though this time we used hard sided canisters and not ursacks since there weren't any trees to hang ursacks (though we did use ursacks in the Beartooths and Selkirks). Were the preparations onerous? No, not really. We carried separate cooking clothes and lightweight shoes for cooking in, kept a clean camp, etc. And my 8 year old was with us (though we always kept him close). Bear spray was purchased from Costco at Anchorage. Personally, I am in favor of re-introduction and intend to comment thusly. FWIW I doubt if the Montana and Idaho departments of Natural Resources are well funded either but it appears that bears have co-existed with humans there quite effectively. We don't hear of hikers been transformed into bear droppings on a semi-regular basis :-). Secondly, I have a question about having bears enter NCNP "naturally" (based on other comments): Is this even possible? How could a bear from Idaho or Montana make it there (are the uninterrupted corridors for this)? Please treat this as a request for information and not a dig at someone else.

[Pahoehoe]

Glacier National Park is 1583 square miles to North Cascades 1070. Glacier saw 2,965,309 visits to North Cascades 30,085 in 2018. Glacier saw 142,856 nights camped (not including RVs) to North Cascades 26,703 in 2018. Glacier has an estimated 300 grizzlies and 600 black bears. Tell me again why there isnt room in north cascades?

[Pahoehoe]

[Pahoehoe]

[SwitchbackFisher]

KVpair, I have not ventured into BC much but my assumption would be that it is more likely the bears come from the North rather than east. No idea how accurate this map is but it shows BC Cascades North of the NCNP having a threatened population. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/soe/indicators/plants-and-animals/grizzly-bears.html If I am incorrect on this please feel free to correct me, again that was just my interpretation of it. It also is worth noting that wolves have spread from the same area to the Teanaway. I know they tend to spread move more quickly than bears, but I don't think it's impossible for bears to do something similar.

[kvpair]

[Pahoehoe]

Grizzly bears are pretty slow to reproduce. Sows have their first litters at 3 to 8 years old, and the cubs stay with mom for 2 or 3 years. She wont reproduce again until the previous litter is on it's own. Each litter has 1 to 4 cubs That's much slower than wolves that have huge yearly litters.

[Tom]

Why are there more grizz in glacier? Doesn't seem to be inversely proportional to human visitation?

[SwitchbackFisher]

[kvpair]

[Pahoehoe]

I'm no biologist, but yeah. That map suggests there are 6 bears on the Canadian side. Are half those bears female? And what about genetic diversity? I would guess that continued habitat improvement and protection from hunting may eventually increase their numbers but it wont happen on any noticable level in our lifetimes..