NORTH CASCADES, Wash. – Grizzly bears in Whatcom County?
It is not as crazy as it sounds.
The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife announced on Thursday, November 10th, that they are evaluating options for restoring and managing grizzly bears in the North Cascades.
They are looking at ways to restore the bears to the area in the hopes of eventually delisting grizzlies from the Endangered Species list in the contiguous United States.
Until they were nearly hunted to extinction in the 20th century, grizzlies roamed the North Cascades for thousands of years and were an important part of the ecosystem.
The last confirmed grizzly sighting in the area was back in 1996.
The public can participate in multiple online meetings on the topic starting on November 15th.