Feds to move Griz to N Cascades

[Cavedweller]

A little more insanity.

Grizzly Proposal Brings Out Hundreds Opposed (And Some In Favor) In North-Central Washington

It’s been four years since the federal government initially started asking Washington residents whether they’d like to see more grizzly bears brought into…

www.nwnewsnetwork.org

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[The Heretic]

I don't have a problem with it. I think the wild should be wild. Native predators are a good thing overall.

 

[Stomper]

I'm sure the deer and elk would LOVE for the exploding cougar and wolf populations to compete with another predator species....

 

[The Heretic]

I'm sure the deer and elk would LOVE for the exploding cougar and wolf populations to compete with another predator species....

How many people would like to go back to the days before non indigenous peoples came along and wiped out all the predators - when we had wildlands and wildlife the way nature intended? How many people like to go up into Canada or Alaska and see moose and brown bears and such.

But want to reintroduce one of the most interesting predators into the PNW, that was here before the "white man" up and down the west coast from Alaska to Mexico, and oh no!



Might affect the deer!

 

[Stomper]

Might affect the jogger, hiker, or bicyclist on the pathway, the hunter in the forest getting jumped by a grizz, or maybe even school kids at a rural bus stop.... when they get snacked on.... OH NO!


If the "good old days" were so great, they wouldn't be history... but let's blame whitey for safety and prosperity... 'cuz they aren't a part of nature... wasting all the Buffalo herds back in the day not withstanding.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

i'll pay the 10k fine for shooting bigfoot

 

[The Heretic]

Might affect the jogger, hiker, or bicyclist on the pathway, the hunter in the forest getting jumped by a grizz, or maybe even school kids at a rural bus stop.... when they get snacked on.... OH NO!


If the "good old days" were so great, they wouldn't be history... but let's blame whitey for safety and prosperity... 'cuz they aren't a part of nature... wasting all the Buffalo herds back in the day not withstanding.

We did and still are messing up ecosystems - one of the worst things we did and still do is virtually eliminate most predators.

The deer and elk do ok with wolves and bear in areas where man hasn't finished the job yet. Hunting in Canada, Alaska and Montana is not bad because of wolves or bears.

The main complaint is not deer/elk, it is cattle and sheep - which is a problem, but only because we intrude into habitat where the predators are.

As for hikers etc., I've hiked/traveled around much of the PNW, including GNP in Montana, the Kenai, Ketchikan, east of Fairbanks. I want to see the wild as wild as possible.

It is one reason I live on a mountain out in the boonies and suffer thru an hour commute each way, rather than live in the city; because I have bears and cougars and coyote on my property - along with so many deer (and a few elk) that I have to shoo them away when I come home and find them eating my apples off the tree, or yell at the coyotes in my yard because they are having a party out there while I am trying to sleep. I much prefer them (and even the skunk I encountered once) to people.

 

[Stomper]

i'll pay the 10k fine for shooting bigfoot

Gooney goo-goo!

 

[American123]

People love eating food grown on farms, but don't like the farmer saying "keep the griz" away. Makes you scratch your head.

There's a finite amount of space on this planet and more people on it everyday, when we can figure out that problem we won't have to have debates about where grizzlies and people collide. Bring dog hunting back for bears and cougar and then maybe, just maybe, it could work, but when generations of bears and cougars haven't known to fear man/dogs. It's a recipe for a lot of grief.

 

[User 1234]

There are much higher populations of humans in the Cascades than there were back in the "good old days" and therefore a much higher chance of conflicts and dead humans. What exactly is the benefit to bringing grizzly bears to Washington?

 

[American123]

There are much higher populations of humans in the Cascades than there were back in the "good old days" and therefore a much higher chance of conflicts and dead humans. What exactly is the benefit to bringing grizzly bears to Washington?

It makes the environmentalists who live in cities feel good about "bears in the wild"

 

[The Heretic]

People love eating food grown on farms, but don't like the farmer saying "keep the griz" away. Makes you scratch your head.

There's a finite amount of space on this planet and more people on it everyday, when we can figure out that problem we won't have to have debates about where grizzlies and people collide. Bring dog hunting back for bears and cougar and then maybe, just maybe, it could work, but when generations of bears and cougars haven't known to fear man/dogs. It's a recipe for a lot of grief.

I was raised on a farm and we grew our own food most of the time (including milk and beef and chickens). I am a part time farmer. Deer and elk cause damage to my crop and it costs thousands to replant - predators don't do any damage - my crop isn't food, it is trees, which last year provided enough timber/lumber to build 30 houses and in 60 or so years will provide that timber/lumber again.

My neighbors are often heard (such as this morning) shooting to scare the deer away from their vineyards.

The only harm bears and cougars and coyotes cause up here are eating foo foo dogs that city folk that have moved here don't keep inside at night and wonder why they don't come back inside by the morning. Dogs - especially feral dogs that city folk dump out here - are the only real threat - native wild predators avoid humans as much as possible.

 

[The Heretic]

There are much higher populations of humans in the Cascades than there were back in the "good old days" and therefore a much higher chance of conflicts and dead humans. What exactly is the benefit to bringing grizzly bears to Washington?

Getting rid of stupid humans.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Like many things...
Issues are decided on , by folks , who don't have to live in the area or with the people who are affected by the decision.

I don't really have a problem with the re-introduction of wildlife in a area as long as :
Its a critter that was actually there at one time...
And its done with the understanding much may have changed , since the critter disappeared in the area...
All of which may mean that no matter how much someone , may like the idea of a re-introduction of a animal ...it just may not work in today's world. , in some cases.
Andy

 

[osprey]

The fact that they were in a specific area at one time doesn't mean they still should be. I have no problem with predator populations that re-introduce themselves into an area, but I am not for man forcing the issue. It is just going cost us a bunch of taxpayer money to manage them for what? Will it make you sleep better at night knowing they are out there. Not a fan of wolf re-introduction and not a fan of this one either.

 

[DirectDrive]

I know were I'm going hiking with my trusty 9mm !
Might even get some of those Michael Jackson boolits for it, too !

 

[osprey]

Double post

 

[The Heretic]

I lived in the general area of the N Cascades for 25 years until I moved back here about 9 years ago. The last decade (more IIRC) I was living up there I remember that they reported there were brown bears in the area of the Baker wilderness. I remember going up in that area in the late 90s (IIRC) and carrying a .44 mag because of that report when I was hiking/camping in the area. I thought it was nice that the bears were there.

Then later there was a report of a brown bear as far south as Rainier NP - that they had crossed over I-90. Another area I have spent time in, XC country skiing.

I spent time in these areas and others with a LOT more brown bears. I would be more cautious in those areas, but never did I feel that it was an unacceptable risk - it just meant that to me, things were going back to the way they should be.

Bear and cougar and wolf attacks on humans are rare (yes they happen), but dog attacks, including feral dogs are a lot more common - I've seen dog attacks, had one happen on my property. Dogs and cats are predators too, and cause a lot more damage than wild predators.

 

[drewp]

Getting rid of stupid humans.

maybe liberals had it right with the abortions

 

[Greenbug]

People (humans) need to stop messing with nature thinking they (we) can make it better. All we seem to do is screw things up. If brown bears migrate to the north cascades naturally, on their own, then that is all well and good. Don't transplant something.