[Sky Hiker]

No Action Alternative—Existing Management Under the no action alternative, existing management practices would be followed, and no new management actions would be implemented. Existing management actions would continue to be focused on improved sanitation, poaching control, motorized access management, outreach and educational programs to provide information about grizzly bears and grizzly bear recovery to the public, and research and monitoring to determine grizzly bear presence, distribution, habitat, and home ranges.

[Ski]

Thanks Rumi. Yeah... I waded through that whole thing years ago.... can't recall why... wasn't about bears... probably goats, more than likely... and while all that legal-eze language sounds great, and certainly does provide a lot of ammunition that can be interpreted in many ways for attorneys to argue about in courtrooms, I don't recall any language in the E.S.A. that prohibits either U.S.F.W.S. or W.D.F.W. to choose the management strategy that Sky Hiker cites just above: no action.

[Eric Hansen]

Montana grizzlies dig up mountain meadows (looks almost like a rototiller came by) to obtain the bulbs of Glacier Lillies. Has anyone seen similar diggings in the North Cascades? Wouldn't that indicate their presence if they are there?

[Pyrites]

I know they’re not the diggers that griz are. I’ve seen from one spot five black bears all digging in Elwha Basin. Just as most of the snow is gone from the meadows. I think eating at the roots of that 18”-30” stem, 6-9” long by 4-5” leaves on alternating sides of the stem. Avocational and vocational botanists, feel free to laugh. I’ve never made one of those measurements, and I’m writing from visual memory. Black bears do some digging too. Maybe more if griz isn’t chasing them off prime spots. No, I haven’t seen griz kill black. I have seen black in great apparent fear book up a tree to get away from griz.

[Logbear]

[Sky Hiker]

Roman 1:25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

[Sky Hiker]

Roman 1:25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

[RumiDude]

[treeswarper]

Just submitting this editorial to the echo chamber. From the 11/23/22 Omak Okanogan Chronicle Central Washington Has (Already) Spoken On Grizzlies Written by Dan Newhouse For decades, Central Washingtonians have had to fight to make our voices heard over the noise of outside interest groups and government bureaucrats who think they know what is best for our communities. Unfortunately, last week's decision by the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reopen discussions on introducing grizzly bears, an apex predator into the North Cascades Ecosystem proves that, once again, our voices are being ignored. The debate over grizzly bear introduction in Washington State is nothing new. In 1995, Washington lawmakers mandated by law that grizzly bears "shall not be transplanted or introduced into the state". Since then, the federal government has made multiple attempts to bypass our state's law and illegally introduce the apex predator into the North Cascades Ecosystem. Our public lands, including the North Cascades National Park, are critical to our region--for species conservation, enjoyment and recreation, and for our water supply and agriculture industry. The introduction of grizzly bears would upset our ecosystem and cause undue hardships on agriculture producers, businesses, and families. This is the message I have heard and echoed, time an again from the rural communities across our district. I'm proud to have worked with officials in the past two administrations to convey this message. In 2020, after hundreds of residents spoke out against this proposal, the Department of Interior came to the conclusion that the introduction of grizzly bears was not necessary, and the proposal would not be pursued any further. Unfortunately, they seem to have changed their minds. Once again, federal bureaucrats are signaling to the men and women who live and work in North Central Washington that they know what's best for them--placing 800 pound apex predators at their doorsteps. For local residents who will certainly be most affected by the plan, it is critical to speak out. The National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are hosting a series of four virtual public meetings to discuss grizzly bear restoration during the Public Scoping period which runs through Dec. 14, 2022. Virtual public meetings will be held on Thursday, Dec. 1 at noon and Friday, Dec. 2, at 7p.m. Additional details and information are available at https//parkplanning. nps. gov/NCBGrizzly. It is not difficult to see why urban-dwellers hundreds of miles away from grizzly bear habitats would be enthusiastic to see increasing their population as an exciting development--grizzly bears are, after all, impressive creatures. Ultimately, Central Washington residents are the ones being asked to live with these bears, and their input should carry the most weight when it comes to introducing grizzlies into their backyards. I strongly encourage the people of Central Washington to attend the virtual meetings in order to voice their opinion and put thei misguided proposal to rest, once and for all.

[Sky Hiker]

It's unfortunate the the financial aspect of the locals doesn't have an influence on the decision. It's also unfortunate that grizzly bears will not be delisted even though there is an abundance in Yellowstone. The population numbers will never be fulfilled in all zones before delisting is accomplished. So it seems these meetings are a formality.

[Bootpathguy]

If Grizz populations are reestablished in the NC's, then there should be a season for them

[treeswarper]

[Logbear]

[Sky Hiker]

Well having read the process thru what it would take to delist the grizzly bear from the ESA it sounds like that won't happen. Reauson is that the grizzly would need to be recovered in all zones not one zone (i.e. Y ellowstone, NCNP, Selkirk, etc.) befoe delisting occurs. If it were by single zone the grizzly would have been delisted in the Yellowstone right now. This was the court ruling after the Crow tribe challenged the FWS decision to delist in the Yellowstone zone. I want to say that it (ESA) specifically says the the economic value weather inside or outside the recovery zone has no weight in the delisting decision. Correct me if I miss read that.

[Bootpathguy]