Wildlife officials announce intent to re-introduce grizzlies to the North Cascades region

Grizzly bears may soon return to the North Cascades region of Washington and British Columbia.

While grizzly bears have lived in the area for over a thousand years, the last known sighting of one was nearly 30 years ago in 1996, according to a National Park Service news release issued Thursday. The population decline of the bears was in large part a result of human activity. The grizzly bear species is currently listed as threatened in the lower 48 states, according to the National Park Service.

In a decision reached Thursday, April 25, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced their intent to reintroduce the bears to the region. The process will begin by moving three to seven bears a year for a period of five to 10 years to establish and initial population of 25 bears. There is no timeline set for the translocation of the bears, according to the release.

The bears will be taken from areas with a similar habitat, such as the Northern Continental Divide, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, or interior British Columbia. Once in the North Cascade region, they will be monitored with fitted radio collars which will provide wildlife managers with periodic updates on their location and their movements.

Wildlife officials believe it could take 60 to 100 years for the grizzly population to reach a health number of 200, based on the implementation of the first 25 bears.

The grizzlies have not been able to return to the habitat on their own because of the isolation of the region. The U.S. portion of the region is roughly 9,800 square miles in size, and contains wildland and mountainland areas that are some of the most intact in the nation.

More than 12,000 comments were received during a 2023 public comment period on the re-introduction of grizzlies, according to the Parks Service.