Grizzly bears are returning to the North Cascades in Washington State, which has not had a grizzly sighting since 1996. The decision to repopulate the state’s mountainous region came after intense debate. Some viewed it as a positive conservation effort, while others worried about the potential harm towards humans and livestock. 

Growing the grizzlies

Grizzly bears were once staples of the North Cascades in Washington but “declined primarily due to direct killing by humans,” said the National Park Service. Now the Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service have decided to “restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades ecosystem through the translocation of grizzly bears from other ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains or interior British Columbia.” The species is a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The plan is to restore three to seven bears a year for five to 10 years in order to achieve an initial population of 25. Ultimately, the agencies aim to restore the population to 200 over the next 60 to 100 years. 

The repopulation plan would designate the grizzly bears as a nonessential experimental population under the Endangered Species Act, which allows “authorities greater latitude to catch or kill bears to stop conflicts between the animals and humans” and allows “landowners in some areas to obtain a permit to kill a grizzly under specific circumstances,” said Scientific American. This is especially the case if the bears pose a threat to livestock. 

The population of grizzly bears has significantly declined since the 1800s, from approximately 50,000 to just under 2,000 today in the continental U.S. They currently occupy four of six established recovery areas in parts of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and northeast Washington “We are going to once again see grizzly bears on the landscape, restoring an important thread in the fabric of the North Cascades,” said Don Striker, the superintendent of North Cascades National Park Service Complex. There is no timeline as to when the repopulation efforts will begin. 

Bearing the debate

While the federal agencies have agreed to restore the grizzlies, there was a fierce debate as to whether doing so was the right course of action. “As the months­long process played out, debate over human-­bear conflict revealed a surprising range of views about what it means to belong to an ecosystem,” said Scientific American. “It also invited a fundamental question: What, exactly, were the grizzlies supposed to bring back?”

Those opposed to the decision feared for the safety of their livestock. “We already have predator issues in the state. We don’t need another apex predator when we can’t deal with what we have,” Rachel McClure, a rancher and secretary of the Okanogan County Cattlemen’s Association, said to NBC News. “We’re busy dealing with wolves. We don’t need to be thinking about bears.” In addition, the process of repopulating the North Cascades is long and complicated. It requires “trapping, trucking and moving bears by helicopter from British Columbia or northwestern Montana,” said NBC News. “As long as it’s taken to get here, it’s just the start,” Joe Scott, the international programs associate director at Conservation Northwest, said to the source. “The actual implementation is not a slam dunk.”

Others have applauded the effort to return the species to the habitat it once called home. The animals have the potential to greatly affect their ecosystem. “Bear scat would disperse seeds across the landscape. Their massive claws would turn up and aerate soil when they dig for roots and rodents,” said Scientific American. The shift also has a chance to right the wrongs of generations past. “Our culture had a war on these species and we know better now, and this is a chance for us to tell a different story,” Gordon Congdon, a retired orchardist who lives in Washington, said to NBC News. 

by: The Associated Press

Posted: Jun 26, 2024 / 06:25 PM PDT

Updated: Jun 26, 2024 / 06:27 PM PDT

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. (AP) — A driver was found dead and three passengers in the vehicle were found hurt in an attack that involved a stabbing and shooting on Interstate 5 in Washington state Wednesday, law enforcement officials said.

Washington state Trooper Rick Johnson told KING-TV that responding officers found the male driver dead of a stab wound Wednesday afternoon south of Seattle near Federal Way.

A man sitting in the front passenger seat of the BMW was taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, Johnson said. Two other passengers, a woman and man who had exited the vehicle by the time troopers had arrived, were taken to a hospital with stab wounds, he said.

Johnson said he didn’t know the conditions of the passengers.

He said there was no danger to the public. Law enforcement was with the passengers at the hospital and talking to witnesses as they investigate what happened, he said.

Including touch-ups and additions, I’ve sat in a tattoo artist’s chair over 20 times. I rarely wear long-sleeved shirts, so you can see some of my collection if we ever meet. I use that word intentionally: collection. As a lover of tattoos, I’m also a lover of art. I thus collect art from artists all over the world. The difference between me and a collector of oil paintings is that I always have my art collection with me and never run out of things to look at.

Not everybody appreciates tattoos, nor does everybody understand why people get them. It’s easy when you see somebody like me, covered in tattoos, to make assumptions about the content of their character. There’s still a bit of a stigma out there that suggests, to some, that only lower-class or rough people get tattoos.

My father used to be one of those people. That’s why I waited to get my first tattoo on the day of my 18th birthday when my parents were in Scotland. There wasn’t much he could do on the other side of the globe! He wasn’t pleased initially, but he eventually came around and has now gone to the shop with me several times. He hasn’t yet got his own tattoo, but I’m working on him.

Over time, that stigma has lessened. 40 years ago, somebody who looked like me would never have been called to be the pastor of St. Peter’s. Actually, no church would have hired me. But here we are, in 2024, and a metalhead, tattooed comic book nerd has been welcomed by a church that is always looking for new ways to welcome everybody into our fold. And we mean that: everybody. This is a place where everybody can have a seat at the table, where all can meet God in an oasis of love.

Difference isn’t something we fear at St. Peter’s. I’m as different as they come, but I have never once felt like folks have used my tattoos as a reason to dislike me. Difference shows up in lots of ways. Skin color. Language. Sexual and gender identity.

At St. Peter’s, we are working to ensure that difference isn’t just welcomed but celebrated. I was astounded when the Episcopal Church Women, a fellowship group at our church, asked me to speak about my tattoos. They listened to the stories of where, when, and why I got each piece. They asked rich questions and made me feel so warmly embraced. My difference wasn’t a barrier to connection but was the very thing that enabled connection. It was beautiful, and I can’t thank them enough.

That’s the kind of church we aspire to be and the kind of world we want to build. As a church, we follow Jesus of Nazareth, who welcomed the outcast and the saint and called them equal. As a church, we strive for a more just world where all feel tolerated, welcomed, and valued. If the world has beaten you up, or you feel overwhelmed by the waves and storms in your life, St. Peter’s can be a haven for you. If you’ve found yourself on the margins of church or life in general, come here and be welcomed into our midst. No tattoos are required!

Chris Adams is the Rector at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Washington.