Grizzlies in the North Cascades?

[jdj]

Will some areas be closed temporarily - I'm sure they will but some on this thread make it sound like the park will shut down. That is not the experience in YNP, Tetons, Grand Canyon or in AK so there's that. Yes, my priority is wildlife. Read the mission of the park service: to preserve and protect resources while providing for the enjoyment of the same. It is a balancing act. Traditionally the park service leans toward preservation in part because there are so many other public resources and because too much "enjoyment" is seen to threaten conservation (I think this is often overstated). I think it is interesting that you are so willing to go on the attack of my motives but seem not to question your own. Who is being superior here?

As for behaviors post bear reintroduction - I suspect there will be more bear proof containers in campgrounds and communities. There will be calls to carry bear spray and bear proof food containers and/or bear poles to hoist food in the backcountry. The most important change will be your behavior. Will you go into bear country with the frame of mind of getting along and appreciating the experience or not. If not, that's on you. If yes, your experience will change in my opinion for the better. BTW - this is very likely far down the road for the Cascades, bears do not reproduce quickly.  

[JasonG]

4 hours ago, jdj said:

I think it is interesting that you are so willing to go on the attack of my motives but seem not to question your own. Who is being superior here?

Sure, that is how this all reads.  I'll go back to my ivory tower.

[Kameron]

I sure hope they put in bear boxes at the campgrounds. That makes things just so much easier than carrying bear cans/hanging/etc.

[AlpineK]

New grizzlies in the North Cascades sound great, but reintroducing Suciasaurrus rex would be rad.  It is the official Washington State dinosaur

 https://www.heraldnet.com/news/suciasaurus-rex-may-become-washingtons-official-dinosaur/

 

While introducing new grizzlies may be a good thing, I imagine a few new migrants are traveling south from BC

 

[olyclimber]

Meanwhile....

https://www.yahoo.com/news/shoot-owls-california-don-t-175431421.html

[olyclimber]

Also check the size of this thing!  From out by Quilcene a couple days ago.

[olyclimber]

Sorry for the thread drift…

[JasonG]

We should rename this thread to "North Cascades climbers to have more first world problems"

[Rad]

"After the successful re-introduction of the Cascades Zebra, we will soon be adding apex predators who can keep the zebras in check. A pair of Siberian Tigers are scheduled to be released on Tiger Mountain in early 2025." 

[olyclimber]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/video-captures-cougar-chasing-pets-coming-within-feet-of-family-in-wa-backyard/ar-BB1mopOr
 

dang I can’t seem to escape these dang cats!

[Packrat]

On 4/29/2024 at 3:04 PM, olyclimber said:

Also check the size of this thing!  From out by Quilcene a couple days ago.

Where is this? I sometimes start my hikes by headlamp in the Quilcene area. 

[olyclimber]

On 5/17/2024 at 3:18 PM, Packrat said:

Where is this? I sometimes start my hikes by headlamp in the Quilcene area. 

Lake Leland. Two cats. One I believe is dead. The other is wearing a collar now.  Were you at (in general) in Quil?

[Rad]

If you have chickens and cats and small dogs running around your yard that abuts the forest, then you're asking for all kinds of critters to come in and eat them: cougar, fox, coyote, raccoon, bear owl, eagle to name a few. It's like leaving an open bag of Doritos on the counter and admonishing your teenagers (or stoned friends) for eating them. Not fair. 

[JasonG]

Maybe not fair, but definitely reality.  My guess is that rural landowners are increasingly likely to take matters into their own hands as predator populations continue to expand in the wake of hunting regulations changes in WA (elimination of spring bear, elimination of hound hunting, etc.).

[thedylan]

I think the pro-reintroduction position is pretty easy to understand: we killed the grizzlies and decimated their habitats and now we want to atone for our sins. I haven't heard a single person on this thread who is actually opposed to eventually restoring a healthy grizzly bear population, they just disagree with the NPS' method and lack of consideration of other competing concerns.

The anti-reintroduction position is maybe a little more complex, but I'll take a stab at getting to the core of it. All of us in our society already live under constant threats: debt, layoffs, decreasing spending power, productivity shaming, and wealth moralizing just to name a few. For those of us who are able to go to the mountains, it may be the only place in our lives where we get even a weak approximation of that feeling of freedom that is supposedly our birthright. And now the NPS wants to spend millions of dollars to further reduce our dying access, both by forcibly reintroducing a physically threatening animal, but also by increasing their ability to regulate and punish us out of the land. People opposed to it can't be NIMBYs when they have no say and no power--it's very clearly not *my* backyard.

When we talk about restoring ecosytems we need to start from a clear understanding of just how unlivable the human habitat is becoming too. We hate what we've become but we don't really know why. "8 billion people" is an empty scapegoat rooted in the belief that humans are inherently bad, which we only believe when we feel we have to disobey our conscience to survive. This reintroduction scheme is far less about a love of grizzlies and far more about an unconscious hatred of humans.

The discussion of Rotenone in alpine lakes reminds me of the ubiquitous use of 1080 I noticed throughout New Zealand (the DOC uses it to kill rodents). Besides putting it in traps everywhere they actually fly over areas and spray 1080 from planes. I mean it's literally chemical warfare. It blows my mind just how similar the liberal attitude towards "invasive" species is to the conservative attitude towards "illegal" immigration.