What could possibly go wrong?

"There's an effort under way to help ensure grizzly bears don't become extinct in the North Cascades.

The National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working with other agencies on a plan to bring grizzly bears back to this part of their natural range. That includes many of Snohomish County's prominent peaks, such as Mount Pilchuck and Whitehorse Mountain.

The grizzly bear restoration effort comes 40 years after the animals were listed in 1975 under the Endangered Species Act as threatened in the lower 48 states.

"It's been a long time since we've had a robust grizzly bear population," said Ann Froschauer, a spokeswoman for the Washington office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

By 1980, Washington listed the grizzly bear as an endangered species. The state boasts about 9,800 square miles of potential habitat for the animal in the North Cascades ecosystem, which is one of six areas outlined in the federal grizzly bear recovery plan.

Canada also is taking measures to save grizzlies. About 3,800 square miles of the North Cascades ecosystem is in British Columbia."

Not to worry, though, the "experts" have got it all figured out.

"The effect on the environment from returning grizzly bears to the North Cascades is expected to be minimal, Servheen said. Recovery is expected to go slowly because the bears usually have two cubs every three years. In Idaho, a study of a similar ecosystem estimated that it would take 50 to 125 years to establish a population of grizzly bears that could live and reproduce without help from humans.

Servheen, a Montana-based biologist, said people will rarely come into contact with the bears because the animals like to live in remote areas.

"Most people have no conflict with bears," he said...

Because they eat mostly vegetation and carrion, Servheen said, their return to the North Cascades would have little effect on other animals. Bears rarely have conflict with livestock but those that did would be moved, he said"

http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/Wildlif...-294233251.html

[cue music] Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic..."