A wealth of wildlife calls the North Cascades National Park Complex home: approximately 75 mammal species, 21 species of reptiles and amphibians, about 200 species of birds, and over 500 types of land insects and approximately 250 aquatic invertebrate species. The most commonly-sighted wildlife are mule deer, black-tailed deer, hoary marmots, squirrels, and mountain goats roaming the upper elevations.
The NPS and USFWS have a plan set to restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades National Park Complex / USFWS-L. Hupp photo
What this national park complex does not have are grizzly bears … yet. These bears roamed the wildlands of the North Cascades for thousands of years, until humans practically eradicated the bears from this ecosystem. The last known sighting of a grizzly was back in 1996. If the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have their way, though, this will change.
In an April 2024 Traveler article, these federal agencies outlined two proposals for recovering the bears, a threatened species. According to the article:
Under the preferred alternative, the bears would be designated a "nonessential experimental" population, the Endangered Species Act designation used in the 1990s when wolves were returned to Yellowstone National Park. Such a designation would allow federal agencies more leeway in managing the species that would not otherwise be available under existing ESA regulations.
The recovery plan will occur in about 9,500 square miles (24,605 square km) of north-central Washington, including North Cascades National Park and surrounding national forest, meaning 85 percent of the recovery area is under federal management. This landscape is prime grizzly habitat that could support about 280 grizzly bears.
Where would the grizzlies come from? The NPS and USFWS indicated they would move grizzly bears from other ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains or interior British Columbia into the North Cascades.
While conservation agencies laud this move, there are groups and communities who are not only wary of this plan, but who oppose this move by the NPS and USFWS.
A Traveler Feature Story focuses on the apprehension expressed by communities, organizations, and tribes regarding the grizzlies’ return. People who would ultimately share the grizzlies’ landscape are understandably worried about encountering an over-600-pound predator with sharp teeth and four-inch-long claws after living for almost three decades without the bears’ presence. Others wonder how the return of grizzlies might affect their lives and livelihood regarding salmon numbers in the Sauk and Skagit rivers.
The grizzly’s return will not be immediate. According to the Feature Story:
Once the recovery program moves to actually putting bears on the ground, visitors shouldn’t expect to see any grizzlies anytime soon. The process will be slow, with wildlife officials releasing a few bears a year. The plan calls for the Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service to move three-seven grizzly bears per year for a period of five to 10 years to establish an initial population of 25 bears in the area.
