Bronco

Saw some climbers coming off of Goat Wall near Mazama. Sounds like some of those climbs are in.

https://methowvalleynews.com/2025/01/16/feds-announce-new-plan-for-grizzly-bear-recovery-in-west/ Feds announce new plan for grizzly bear recovery in West JANUARY 16, 2025 BY ANN MCCREARY Map courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a new approach to promoting grizzly bear recovery in the Western states, managing them as one population in a large area. Propose ‘landscape-scale’ management Grizzly bears will be protected in western states under a “new and comprehensive approach to grizzly bear recovery” announced last week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The federal wildlife agency proposal retains the bears’ designation as a threatened species, and manages them as one population in a large geographic area that encompasses all of Washington state and large parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The new approach is a significant change from a decades-old practice of managing bears as separate populations in six areas designated as “recovery zones” — including one in the North Cascades, which currently has no known grizzly bears. In announcing its proposal on Jan. 8, FWS also rejected petitions that had been submitted by the states of Montana and Wyoming seeking to remove federal protections for grizzly bears and turn management over to the states. Instead, the agency chose to pursue a landscape-scale management approach for grizzly bears in the lower 48 states. The proposal would classify grizzly bears as a “distinct population segment” that includes the six recovery zones and additional areas where suitable habitat exists and where grizzly bears currently reside or are expected to become established as populations recover. As part of the reclassification, FWS also proposed revising regulations protecting bears, providing more flexibility to agencies involved in research and management, and to landowners experiencing conflict with bears. The flexibility, provided through a “4(d) rule,” includes actions like deterrence, capture and relocation, or shooting bears in specific instances, such as during attacks on livestock or working dogs. “This reclassification will facilitate recovery of grizzly bears and provide a stronger foundation for eventual delisting,” said Martha Williams, FWS director. “And the proposed changes to our 4(d) rule will provide management agencies and landowners more tools and flexibility to deal with human/bear conflicts, an essential part of grizzly bear recovery.” Removed protections In designating the distinct population segment boundaries, FWS also removed protections outside those boundaries in the lower 48 states, “where grizzly bears do not occur and are not expected to inhabit in the future,” FWS said. Grizzlies have been listed as a threatened species throughout all the lower 48 states since 1975. A distinct population segment is defined under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a population of vertebrates that is discrete from other populations of the species and significant to the species as a whole. FWS said the new management approach is warranted because grizzly bears are moving between populations in recovery zones “indicating recovery zones are no longer discrete” and grizzly bear distribution “has significantly expanded.” This increased movement of bears between recovery areas “demonstrates the remarkable success of conservation and management efforts” by federal, state and tribal agencies “and private landowners, who support coexistence with grizzly bears,” FWS said in a Q&A section on its website. As a result of conservation and management efforts, the population of grizzly bears has grown from a few hundred bears when they were listed as threatened 40 years ago to more than 2,000 today, FWS said. Recovery of small and extirpated populations, like the North Cascades, “relies on contributions from high resilient populations,” FWS said. “Maintaining all recovery zones together in one DPS (distinct population segment) will increase the speed of recovery in remaining ecosystems and the overall viability of grizzly bears, increasing the likelihood of successfully delisting the entire DPS by addressing the species’ recovery needs as a whole.” North Cascades implications Plans are underway to relocate grizzly bears from the Rocky Mountain area to the North Cascades — one of the six recovery zones — in an effort to restore bears to their historic habitat in mountains near the Methow Valley. As part of the North Cascades recovery plan approved last year by FWS, after years of study, bears in the North Cascades are designated a “nonessential experimental population.” That’s a designation provided under the ESA for a group of threatened or endangered species that are restored in an area that is geographically isolated from other populations. The grizzly bear recovery plan for the North Cascades includes a rule, called 10(j), that provides management options like deterrence, relocation or even killing bears, much like those just announced for the larger distinct population segment. However, there is a difference in the way the management rules for bears in the North Cascades and the larger population of grizzly bears will be applied, explained Andrew Lavalle, public affairs specialist with FWS. “Flexibilities under the proposed 4(d) rule are tied to the recovery status of a given population, meaning certain actions may only be allowed if the population meets specific recovery goals. In contrast, the North Cascades 10(j) rule provides these flexibilities regardless of the population’s recovery status,” Lavalle said. Additionally, federal agencies are not required to consult with FWS about actions that could impact bears in the North Cascades, while consultation would be required in other areas within the distinct population segment boundaries, Lavalle said. Legal challenges The decision to maintain federal protections for grizzly bears was applauded by the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation organization that advocates for grizzly bear recovery. “With ongoing federal protections, grizzlies in the Northern Rocky Mountains and North Cascades will have a real change at long-term recovery, instead of being gunned down and mounted on trophy walls,” said Andrea Zaccardi of the Center. However, Zaccardi criticized the proposed rule that would permit bears to be killed in more situations than is currently allowed for threatened species under the ESA, for example, by property owners when bears attack livestock or dogs. “While grizzlies won’t be killed by state-sponsored trophy hunts, I’m concerned that their recovery will be harmed as more bears die at the hands of the livestock industry,” Zaccardi said. She also criticized FWS for not including in the distinct population segment boundaries places like California and Colorado, “where the bears once lived and abundant habitat remains.” FWS has previously attempted to delist bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, declaring the population recovered in 2007 and in 2017. Both times the decision was challenged by conservation groups and overturned in federal court — in the latter case just before a state-approved grizzly bear hunting season was set to open in Wyoming. FWS is under court ordered settlement agreement with the state of Idaho requiring the service to complete an evaluation of grizzly bear listing in the lower 48 states by January 2026. The announcement last week is part of fulfilling that agreement, FWS said. “Courts have urged the Service to consider the interconnectedness of grizzly bear populations. This revision incorporates lessons learned from prior litigation while balancing the need for management flexibility with implementing conservation measures. The goal is to achieve the species’ long-term, durable recovery and eventual delisting,” FWS said. Public comment period A 60-day public comment period on the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed grizzly bear distinct population segment designation and the 4(d) management rule will open on Jan. 15, after publication in the Federal Register. For information on the proposed rule and how to participate in the public comment process, visit the project webpage: www.fws.gov/grizzlyrulemaking. A final rule is expected by January 2026. FWS has also scheduled public meetings in Missoula, MT on Jan. 28, Coeur d’Alene, ID on Jan. 29, a virtual meeting on Jan. 30, and Cody, WY on Feb. 10. More information is on the website.

Careful man, that log looks to be under quite a bit of tension and large enough to do some damage!

This one is highly recommended. All of these come with the caveat of needing low avalanche danger forecast which happens to coincide with good climbing conditions (firm snow).

I did a little googling yesterday and found there's an entire sub-reddit dedicated to "unsolved true crime" that this came up in. Part of a larger conspiracy of course.

Thanks for bumping this, very inspiriting Monday morning shoulder season read.

Anyone know if the incoming administration has taken a position on this?

I'm certainly a little more protective about where I expend my declining energy these days. Fighting on the internet is not as fun as it was in the early 2000s. Those were the glory days of spray. Now I spend my time trying to how to recover from training injuries. Spray now Spray in the 2000's

Mount Rainier National Park announces winter recreational access for 2024-25 season Paradise Road open to vehicles Fridays through Mondays starting November 12 Subscribe | What is RSS Date: October 30, 2024 Contact: Mount Rainier Press Information Line, 360-569-6510 ASHFORD, Wash. – Mount Rainier National Park announced updates today to the winter 2024-25 recreation access schedule. Beginning Tuesday, November 12, the park will open vehicle access to the Paradise area four days per week, Fridays through Mondays. The road will be closed to public vehicle access Tuesdays through Thursdays. Park staff will continue to revisit the Paradise access schedule should staffing levels change during the winter season. The Longmire area will remain open seven days a week barring any major storm events or emergency situations. Winter camping at Paradise will be available Friday through Sunday nights only, conditions permitting. The sledding runs at Paradise will not be open for the 2024-2025 winter season, as available staff members will be focused on plowing roads and parking lots to maintain access into the area. Sledding is not permitted elsewhere in the park. More information about Paradise winter access is available on the park website. Winter recreation access in the rest of the park remains unchanged. Annual winter season closures of State Routes 410 and 123 will be enacted soon at the northeast, east, and southeast park boundaries. The east side of the park is open for visitor use throughout the winter, including overnight winter camping with a valid permit. Information on the status of the gate to Paradise can be found on the park’s Alerts section of the website. The National Park Inn and Longmire General Store remain open daily for equipment rentals, food, and beverages. The park website provides information on winter activities within the park and at nearby areas outside the park. Staff and visitor safety goals are outlined in the 2018 document “Longmire-to-Paradise Winter Road Opening Matrix” on the park’s website. For more information about Mount Rainier National Park, please visit www.nps.gov/mora.

From FB: Rockfall Ragged Edge, Vesper Peak. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Spooky season is upon us! For anyone looking to climb Ragged Edge, take note that there was significant rockfall last weekend between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning that altered the route significantly. @alpine_captain shared this summary of the changes: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A large amount of rock fell from the “edge” of the main slab, right where it becomes more of a roof (which the 5th pitch traverses above). The last 10-15 feet of the 4th pitch are now more difficult and the protection opportunities are limited. These moves are hard to protect for the second as they make the final moves to the belay and a fall for a follower here would likely involve swinging out into space. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The belay at the top of the 4th pitch is now hanging, and the bolts are only ~4ft above the edge of the new section of roof. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The beginning of the 5th pitch now sports a wide step-across move to small footholds, although the hands on either end of the span are good. This move is rather height/flexibility dependent. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ With more rain and drastic temperature swings expected this fall, keep those heads on a swivel! Rockfall events like this are hard to predict, but they often occur during or immediately after big weather events. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #climbing #rockfall #pnw #vesper #update #cascademountainascents

Nice work you two and great tribute to Dallas!

So we all have to go back up for the SW Rim now? 😃

Awesome, thanks for posting!

I feel ya, oof. 🙃