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DARRINGTON, Wash. (AP) — Contentious proposals to reintroduce grizzly bears to the North Cascades ecosystem in Washington state are once again open for public comment.
The Daily Herald reports the plan, drafted by the National Park Service and U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, drew mixed responses from locals in 2017.
It includes four options for grizzly bear recovery. Three would bring bears in from Montana or British Columbia to bolster the local population. The goal would be to reach 200 bears.
A fourth proposal calls for continuing current efforts to keep habitat healthy.
Work on the proposals was halted by the Trump administration in December of 2017 and then restarted in 2018.
Grizzlies were listed as a threatened species in the U.S. in 1975 and as endangered in Washington in 1980. Now, scientists don't have enough evidence to say there is any population in the North Cascades.
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Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com
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