Poll backs grizzly recovery

From the Bellingham Herald comes this wonderful story: bq. A majority of residents who live east of Highway 9 in Whatcom and Skagit counties support efforts to increase the grizzly bear populations in the North Cascades, according to a telephone survey sponsored by the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project. bq. Fifty-two percent of 508 residents in the region said they were highly supportive of increasing grizzly bear populations and 24 percent expressed moderate support. bq. And 33 percent of residents said they would be even more supportive if additional grizzlies were moved into the North Cascades from other areas, according to the survey results. bq. Those results were a surprise, especially since efforts at reintroduction of other species in Western states have met tremendous resistance from nearby residents, said Jim Davis, co-director of the project. bq. "There were anecdotal stories that say people don't mind the bears, they mind the government and when they start bringing in bears," Davis said. bq. There are currently no plans by the U.S. government to move grizzlies into the North Cascades from other areas. But the Canadian government has proposed adding five grizzlies each year for five years into the Manning Park area, just north of Ross Lake in Whatcom County. bq. Highway 9 borders the 9,500 square miles, including all of North Cascades National Park, that's been deemed a "recovery" area for the grizzly bear when they were listed as threatened on the federal Endangered Species List in 1975. Only 10 percent of the area is privately owned. I had mentioned before that Jen and I recently purchased some land in this area. We were up last weekend and were serenaded one evening by several families of coyotes. Living close to the wilderness reminds you of how we fit into the grand scheme of things. Cities like Los Angeles and New York are the aberrations, not the norm.