Grizzly to be reintroduced in area of popular US national park

While a decision made by Coloradans to bring the gray wolf species back into the Centennial State has dominated the discussion related to animal reintroduction as of late, the move to bring the grizzly bear back to the area of a popular national park is sure to be a hot topic in months to come.

Announced on April 25, agencies have decided to reintroduce the grizzly bear back into Washington's North Cascades ecosystem, which spans a massive 9,800 square miles and is home to North Cascades National Park. The last time a grizzly was spotted in the US portion of this region was 1996.

The current plan is to move three to seven grizzlies into the area per year for a period of five to 10 years to establish a population of 25 bears, with these bears being translocated from other ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains and interior British Columbia.

According to officials, bears play an important role in the ecosystem, particularly when it comes to distributing native plant seeds and in the natural management of other wildlife populations. Populations in the region declined directly due to killings by humans, not environmental factors.

The population will be considered a nonessential experimental population under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act. There is currently no set timeline for when the reintroduction will begin.

It's also unclear exactly where the grizzlies will be reintroduced, though it's likely they'll eventually be present in North Cascades National Park, even if that's not where they're initially released.

Local news source King5 indicates that many residents of the surrounding area have expressed concern with the plan.

Read more about this reintroduction effort here.