BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Local wildlife advocates are dismayed that the Interior Department has scrapped plans to reintroduce grizzly bears to the North Cascades.
Executive Director Mitch Friedman of Conservation Northwest in Bellingham says it’s the only area in the lower 48 states outside of the Rockies that could support a grizzly population.
He says the big bears are a critical part of the ecosystem and his group’s polling has found overwhelming public support for their reintroduction.
Secretary David Bernhardt said last week that his agency won’t pursue a plan that had been supported by President Trump’s first Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke.