[Logbear]

Here's a couple of comments showing differing points of view.

[jeannette]

"This will put more xxxx in the cascades as hikers will need to prepare to defend themselves. If hikers defend themselves will they be prosecuted by the feds since grizzlies are protected and humans are not? Will hikers be told they must have at least one limb torn off before they're allowed to shoot?" Given this current administration, you are probably right. Everything is upside down these days.

[Mountainfisherman]

You can 'comment' this to death and it doesn't really matter. When you're in proximity of the largest predator in North America and you don't know what it's going to do and you aren't sure what to do-then sh## gets real and going back and forth on the internet doesn't mean a thing. Welcome to the Wild West, spanky. Snark aside, if you're not taking bear precautions which you should be doing anyway no matter where you are, be extra sure to do so now. It will take years, probably decades for grizzlies to reach the 'prescribed' numbers and more than likely they will be 'concentrated' in habitat/food sources and/or attracted to places frequented by people-many whom will be careless with bear precautions. That's bad news for people and bears, people who end up in a confrontation with a bear because of the carelessness of their fellow humans, bad for bears who must be killed once they develop a 'taste' for human food. Over the years, the NPS has been able to separate people and grizzlies in YNP-they won't be able to do that in the NCNP backcountry as easily if at all. In the end, grizzly reintro presents a complication that heightened awareness and planning will largely mitigate. Plan accordingly, both to avoid confrontation and in the unlikely event of a confrontation.

[Anne Elk]

[Logbear]

I don't think there will be any kind of confrontation in my lifetime. I don't even think I'll see a Grizzly in the North Cascades in my lifetime. And I want to see one. Or just the chance to see one. And I'm not the only one that wants to see one. To get the chance to see a Grizzly Bear in Bella Coola in BC, it will cost my wife and I about $20,000 for a 5 night stay. https://www.tweedsmuirparklodge.com/packages/grizzly-bear-safari/

[Cyclopath]

[Mountainfisherman]

Humans in bear country, confrontations are inevitable. Hopefully, not fatal for either party.

[hbb]

[NorthwestWanderer]

This should make backpacking in the cascades a lot more interesting. Last year I had a record year of seeing 26 grizzly bears (more than all my other years backpacking combined!) in the rocky mountain ecosystem. Of those 26 grizzly encounters 2 were negative and one had the potential to be very negative if I wasn't more aware of my surroundings. Regardless of your position on this topic, it takes being out in the woods to the next level which can be exciting for some but also kill interest for others depending on comfort level. You also have to be a lot more aware while hiking, no more zoning out to crush miles!

[Pyrites]

Tweedsmuir, expense. I’m probably out of date but daily you could see griz daily on the Atnarko during chinook season.

[allan6344]

We tend think of "North Cascades" as the North Cascades Park but the North Cascades Ecosystem (NCE) is I-90 to the Canadian border. The Seattle Times article leads people to believe it's just the remote parts of the park but I don't see anything that says they won't be dropping them off in the Mt.Baker-Snoqualmie forest in Snohomish or King counties.

[idoru]

[altasnob]

[rbuzby]

[allan6344]

I still don't see anything in the "Joint Record of Decision" that says they won't or can't drop them off anywhere in the NEP boundary. There is a lot of discussion meant to imply they will be in the park or wilderness areas, but nothing that says they can't be anywhere in the NEP where they think a population will survive. It may not be their preference as they discuss, but circumstances may put a population much further south than our local bias expects. Our bias is to consider the "North Cascades" as centered on Marblemount when it is not. Refer to the end of the document and the graphic for the "Area A of the Nonessential Experimental Population (NEP) Boundary". It's going to be an interesting experiment in any case.