Interior Secretary Pledges Support for Grizzly Bear Reintroduction to the North Cascades Ecosystem (Washington State/British Columbia)

US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke,a former Navy SEAL,startled environmentalists and cattlemen alike when he announced his support for reintroducing the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) to the North Cascades Ecosystem.The Ecosystem stretches from Northcentral Washington State and across the Canadian border into British Columbia.Jewel of the Ecosystem is North Cascades National Park,which is located some 75 mile/121 km north of Seattle,Washington.
In his first year in office,Mr.Zinke has developed a tough guy reputation,seeming totally oblivious to conservation concerns,in the eyes of many,and apparently all in on resource extraction and exploitation.
The other side of the man was revealed in his recent comments at North Cascades National Park in Sedro-Woolley,Skagit County,Washington:
The grizzly bear is part of the environment,as it once was here.It's part of a healthy environment.*
Restoring the grizzly bear to the North Cascades Ecosystem is the American conservation ethic come to life.The loss of the grizzly bear in the North Cascades would disturb the Ecosystem and deprive the region of an icon.*
I grew up on the flanks of Glacier National Park (Montana) and I have dealt with grizzly bears all my life.I'm in support of the Great Bear,and in support of doing this right.This is not reintroduction of a rabbit.*
I have always loved grizzlies.*
I am confident we have the skill to have grizzlies in the Ecosystem in a way that managers don't have unintended consequences.*
Few grizzly bears have been seen in recent years.It is believed there are no more than a few dozen grizzlies left in the entire Ecosystem.They were largely hunted out for their fur from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries.
There is also a small population of grizzly bears in the Selkirk Mountains of Northeast Washington.*
Mr.Zinke was educated in citizenship by the American Legion Boys' State programme,going on to become a decorated Navy SEAL,with whom he served in theatres from Kosovo to Iraq,as well as a state senator and Member of Congress.*
The Environmental Impact Statement for grizzly reintroduction to the North Cascades was halted when President Donald Trump took office.Indeed,Mr.Zinke had lifted Endangered Species Act protection for the grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.*
Secretary Zinke aims to have the EIS and a Record of Decision completed by year's end.*
The grizzly bear is a subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos).It is viewed with hostility by those with agricultural interests as a threat to both people and livestock;but considered a keystone species in conservation circles.