SEATTLE — An effort to return grizzly bears to North Cascades National Park is back in motion after officials announced public comment will be reopened.
The Seattle Times reports former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke surprised wildlife advocates last year when he announced he was a fan of the bear and supported reintroduction to the park. But he stopped work on the plan in August with no plan for resuming it.
On Thursday, the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that a 90-day extension of the comment period on the draft grizzly bear recovery plan and environmental impact statement begins Friday and closes Oct. 24.
Numerous grizzlies roamed north-central Washington state in the past, but early settlers and trappers killed thousands for fur in the mid-19th to early 20th century. The region's booming population has also encroached on their habitat, and few have been seen in recent decades.
Biologists estimate that fewer than 10 grizzly bears remain in the North Cascades, the most at-risk bear population in North America. The last verified grizzly sighting in Washington's Cascades was in 2011.
