Locals Unleash on Biden Administration Officials Over Plan to Release Grizzly Bears on Their Doorstep
Plans announced by the Biden administration to import grizzly bears to an area in northern Washington state have alarmed residents who worry that Biden is putting them all in danger.
The administration initially announced the plan in September with an eye toward reintroducing the apex predator into the federally-managed North Cascades National Park near Washington state’s border with Canada between Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, B.C.
The proposal was published on Sept. 29 featuring three options, two of which are to re-introduce the bears to the region and a third, called the “no action” plan, which continues current management practices without trying to meddle in the balance in the area’s wildlife.
The idea of re-introducing the bears has been in the works at least since the Obama administration. In 2022, the feds produced an environmental impact study of the plan with a central goal of helping to create a thriving grizzly bear population and to remove the animal from the endangered species list. The last sighting of a grizzly in the area was in 1996.
The feds plan to release seven grizzly bears each year over the next ten years to boost the bear population. The goal is to have a stable population of some 200 animals in the region. And, while the Trump administration abandoned the plan, as soon as Biden entered the White House, the grizzly project was back on the table, Fox News reported.
The plan has been lambasted by residents and those representing them in the area.
Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse, a Republican, said the plan would be “devastating” to the area, Fox News reported in September.
“Time and again, our communities have spoken to express staunch opposition to the introduction of these apex predators, which would be detrimental to our families, wildlife and livestock alike,” Newhouse said of the plan. “I’m beyond disappointed that the Biden administration is ignoring our concerns by moving forward with the introduction while putting on the façade of seeking more public input after their decision has clearly been made.”
The plan is still in play, and this month more than 200 local residents packed a meeting for public comments on the plan hosted by the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Parks Service. Most were there to offer their opposition to the whole idea.
Newhouse, who has introduced a bill in Congress to scuttle the plan, was there once again to urge the feds to drop the idea, Fox News reported on Wednesday.
“As a farmer, I worry not only about the bears destroying my crops, but for the safety and well-being of myself, my family, and my on-farm hands,” Newhouse told the federal agency representatives. “It is clear you all know that grizzlies can and probably will move out of the zone in which you drop them in, yet rather than letting common sense prevail, are continuing to push forward with this dangerous plan.
“So tell me, what is the agency’s plan for dealing with crop loss and livestock depredation that is inevitable from the introduction of these predators? What is the timeline for issuing lethal permits? And how much will citizens have to lose before they can defend themselves from this predator in their backyard?” he demanded.
Other residents were equally upset by the grizzly bear plan. One man insisted that the bears would simply migrate south after being released in the park area.
“There’s not the habitat up there for the grizzly bear. There never has been and there never will be,” one resident said during the comment session last week, according to video obtained by Fox News Digital. “So, you’re going to put grizzly bears there, what are they going to do? They’re going to get right out in the winter. They’re going to go right down in Mazama and they’re going to go down in the rest of the area because they’re not going to stay up there. So, I’m opposed to it completely.”
“Nobody needs grizzlies, nobody needs wolves,” another local citizen railed. “And the thing we need even less than that is the Department of Fish and Wildlife. These guys know nothing about fish, they don’t care about wildlife. All they want to do is ruin the most important people, which is farmers and ranchers who grow our food. There’s no reason for these people, there’s no reason for grizzly bears.”
“If any grizzly bear comes around my place, I’m shooting it,” he warned.
The commissioners of Chelan County, Washington, have also said they oppose the plan due to the “likely negative impacts to public safety, economic development, recreation opportunities and the overall livelihood of our rural communities.
“The federal agencies leading this effort have generally failed to address these concerns and have failed to engage in any meaningful way Chelan County and other neighboring counties in the proposed grizzly bear restoration area,” the county officials added.
Still, Hugh Morrison, the regional FWS director, insisted that the grizzly bear is part of the area’s heritage and he feels humans and bears can “all coexist peacefully.”
America’s grizzly bears are mostly located in western Montana and Wyoming. The animals are usually loners, but have been known to attack humans and livestock. And there are hefty fines and even jail time for killing a grizzly.
It appears that only researchers and environmentalists are for this plan and nearly everyone else is against it, including local governments. Once again, we see pointy-headed leftists trying to play god and to meddle in the affairs of local residents, despite the harm it could do.
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