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North Cascades Unveils New Education Trailer
 The North Cascades Ecosystem Subcommittee unveiled their newest educational resource on August 19, 2011, with the beginning of a state-wide tour by their new Bear Education Trailer. Modeled after a smaller prototype created by the Center for Wildlife Information in Missoula, Montana, the 17-foot-long North Cascades trailer is emblazoned with bear education graphics. It contains both grizzly bear and black bear full-body taxidermy mounts and all the supplies to provide a quality educational program for youth or adults. The trailer will be stationed at the USFWS office in Wenatchee as a resource for the North Cascades Ecosystem Subcommittee member agencies and for personnel from the Grizzly Bear Outreach Program (GBOP) who are contracted by the NC Subcommittee to carry out bear-related education in the North Cascades Grizzly Bear Recovery Area.
The trailer is the culmination of a three-year effort by the North Cascades Information & Education subcommittee. Funds to pay for the trailer came from a grant from IGBC, funds from the USFWS, and from contributions from partners. Non-agency contributors and partners include GBOP, Cabela’s, Counter Assault Bear Deterrent Spray, United Taxidermist’s Association , and Captured Expressions Taxidermy. Purchase, design and construction of the trailer were contracted through the Center for Wildlife Information. (Click on the above link to read the entire article)
Additional Articles:
The Wenachee World
North Cascades Grizzly Bear Subcommittee
Contact: Doug Zimmer, USFWS 360/753-4370
For Release: July 1, 2011
North Cascades Grizzly Bear Sighting
An inter-agency panel of grizzly bear experts has identified a bear photographed last October in Washington’s North Cascades Mountains as a grizzly bear. This is the first Class 1 report of a grizzly bear in the North Cascades ecosystem since 1996. Class 1 reports are considered verified sightings of a species that include physical evidence such as tracks or a photograph of the animal with a geographically-verifiable background. Although State and Federal agencies have been working to recover the North Cascades’ small native grizzly population for over twenty years and receive multiple reports of possible grizzly bears each year, most turn out to be black bears. Photographs taken by a hiker who encountered the animal are the first known confirmed photos of a living North Cascades grizzly bear in perhaps a half-century.
U.S. FOREST SERVICE NEWS RELEASE
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
215 Melody Lane
Wenatchee, WA 98801
For immediate release: July 27, 2010—11:30 a.m.
Interagency Teams To Search For North Cascades Grizzlies
 North Cascades
On April 18, 2007, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced the initiation of a 5-year review of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) (as listed in the lower 48 States excluding the Greater Yellowstone Area population) and 8 other species (72 FR 19549). We conducted reviews to ensure that our classification of each species as threatened or endangered on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants is accurate. A 5-year review is an assessment of the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review.
While study of this very rugged and remote habitat indicates that this ecosystem is capable of supporting a self-sustaining population of grizzlies, only a "remnant" population remains, incapable of enduring without active recovery efforts. The population is estimated to be fewer than 20 animals within the 9,500 sq mi North Cascades recovery zone (limited to the U.S.) and the bears in this ecosystem are warranted for endangered status. In 1991, the Fish and Wildlife Service first issued a warranted but precluded finding to uplist the North Cascades recovery zone population to endangered status. As noted in the recently published Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions, this uplisting action continues to be precluded by higher priority listing actions (see the species assessment form for additional information on why reclassification is warranted but precluded). The Service assigned a listing priority number of 3 for this population because of very low population numbers as evidenced by continuing lack of credible sightings and little success identifying animals through hair snagging and genetic analysis.
Threats to the species in this recovery zone include incomplete habitat protection measures (motorized access management), small population size, and population fragmentation resulting in genetic isolation. Information indicating isolation of the population in British Columbia and the United States limits the chance of natural recovery given the small population size. Population augmentation may be the only way to recover this population.
The population in adjacent British Columbia is estimated to be less than 25-30 grizzly bears. A draft British Columbia recovery plan for that area recommends habitat protection measures and population augmentation on the Canadian side of the border.
Current efforts toward recovery are focusing on habitat protection through a strategy of no net loss of core habitat, information and education efforts regarding grizzly bears and their habitat, and enhanced sanitation for proper garbage and food storage in bear habitat. Information and education programs must continue to inform people about grizzly bear biology, and techniques to avoid conflicts when living or recreating in bear habitat. An EIS process is necessary to involve the public in examining a range of alternatives to recover this population, including population augmentation
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