Grizzlies coming back to the North Cascades

The Wild with Chris Morgan

KUOW News and Information

Science, Nature

4.8 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2024

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you’ve been a longtime listener of THE WILD then you know that I’ve been a champion of bringing back grizzly bears to the North Cascades of Washington here in the mountains near where I live. On April 25, 2024 that dream has taken a massive step towards becoming reality. The National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have announced that they will be restoring the grizzly population that called this place home for thousands of years. They were a key part of this ecosystem before they were basically eliminated by humans, so this is their chance to roam these mountains again. The plan is to bring 3-7 grizzly bears in per year for a few years to reach an initial population of twenty-five bears. It’s a big milestone.

How we got here is a long and fascinating story. Which is why I wanted to share an episode that we did for THE WILD back in 2019. The 'Ghost Bears' of Washington. I hope it’ll give you a little more understanding about grizzlies, the rollercoaster ride it’s been here in the North Cascades, and what it will mean to have them back. Hope you enjoy!

And if you want to learn more about grizzlies here are links to two short films on the topic that we made a few years ago that have been really popular. Including one about an incredible translocated grizzly bear named Irene!

WANTED: Grizzly Bears?

TIME FOR THE GRIZZLY?

THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and edited by Jim Gates. It is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is free and it's accessible to everyone thanks to support from listeners like you.
0:06.1	If you value this show, please consider supporting its production by donating to our home, KUAW. It only takes a minute to give and you'll be helping to support
0:16.5	the production of this podcast. Make a donation at KUOW.org or follow the link in the show notes and thanks.
0:25.0	Hi everybody Chris here first before I share some big news that I'm still
0:32.0	tingling from I wanted to pop in and tell you that we have a fresh and
0:35.9	fascinating brand new season of the wild coming up on May 28th. This season we are going to explore our national parks.
0:45.0	We've unearthed some really interesting stories about their biodiversity
0:49.0	and how these parks are protecting nature in all its glorious forms from the tallest trees on the planet
0:56.2	to the hottest place on Earth. We'll explore the ecosystems of these crucial natural wonders.
1:02.4	I can't wait, starting May 28th. Okay now to the really big news.
1:08.0	If you've been a long time listener of the wild then you know that I've been a champion of bringing back
1:12.5	grisly bears to the North Cascades of Washington here in the mountains near where I
1:16.2	live. Well on April 25th, 2024 that dream has taken a massive step towards becoming reality.
1:25.0	The National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service have announced that they will be restoring the grizzly bear population that called this place home for thousands of years.
1:36.4	They were a key part of this ecosystem before they were basically eliminated by humans.
1:41.6	So this is their chance to roam these mountains again. The plan is to bring
1:45.8	three to seven grisly bears in per year for a few years to reach an initial
1:50.4	population of 25 bears. It's a big milestone. And how we got here is a long and
1:57.0	fascinating story, which is why I wanted to share an episode that we did for the wild back in 2019, the Ghost Bears of Washington.
2:06.7	I hope it will give you a little bit more understanding about Grisley's, the roller coaster
2:11.0	ride it's been here in the North Cascades,
2:13.6	and what it will mean to have them back.
	...

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