Nathan introduced the speaker of the day, Dr. Jason Ransom, who gave us a talk on reintroducing grizzly bears in the lower 48. Dr. Ransom laid out the talk as a three-parter, the background, restoration plan, and the next steps.

 

Background – grizzly bears were endemic in the mountains of Washington. They basically were hunted out of existence. There was no loss of habitat, they were exterminated. From about 1830 to 1870, thousands of grizzly bear hides were shipped out of this ecosystem by Hudson’s Bay Co. The last bear confirmed sighting was 1996 around glacier Peak.

 

The Endangered Species Act established six recovery zones for the grizzlies. They are North Cascades, Selkirks (north of Spokane – at the border), the Cabinet – Yaak (NW Montana), Northern Rockies (Glacier N.P.), Bitterroot (Central Idaho), and Yellowstone.  Bitterroots have a small population; Yellowstone has some but for the most part these zones are unpopulated by grizzlies. Our backyard – the north Cascades has the size larger than New Jersey, south of the border alone. But few grizzles. The problem with the adage “if you build it, they will come” is that it ain’t true. The bears have not flooded back to the North Cascades.

 

Dr. Ransom told us that the plan is to transport bears to the habitat. These will be inland bears – not the gigantic salmon feeders that you see on tv. They are 90% vegetarian, mostly plant-eating. A lot of the protein seems to come from insects (like ants – if you can believe that). The carrying capacity of the land seems to be +/- 280 bears. And the climate modeling seems to show that climate change will not harm the bears.

 

The bears are considered a keystone species, but Dr. Ransom was careful to note that the lack of grizzlies does not mean the ecosystem falls apart. Rather that when the bears are present, they make a noticeable difference to the system. They spread seeds very effectively, and they dig a lot, which makes the seeding more effective.

 

The Environmental Impact Study process is too involved to describe. So, he just hit a couple of high points. They will use a 10(j) designation from the USFWS to limit the red tape. The upshot is that in April the decision was made to reintroduce the bears into the N. Cascades. They will bring in about 25 bears in the next 10 years. The bears will be 2-5 years old and be sourced from the northern Rockies, Yellowstone and interior B.C.  The bears will be 60%-80% female, without a history of conflict, and all will be fitted with a radio collar. Although why the bears get to listen to radio escapes this reporter. And the release sight will be in the Stephen Mather, Pasayten and Glacier Peak wilderness areas. There might be short-term closures in the release sites. A population of about 200 bears will be attained in 60-100 years.

 

Dr. Ransom went over some of the ramifications of the 10(j) Rule. But they are too boring for this reporter to mention. Just let it be known that it gives the FWS more flexibility in completing their tasks. There is no set timeline established yet. The FWS has to mobilize, do outreach and education, acquire equipment etc. They will focus on safety and conflict prevention. He said getting “bear aware” will help in the long-term. Remember there is a lot of overlap between the smartest bears and the dumbest people. A bear will require about 20,000 calories/day prior to going into winter mode. So, be careful with bird seed etc. A really interesting presentation.