Federal wildlife officials are considering reintroducing grizzly bears into the ecosystem of the North Cascades mountain range in Washington.
Previous reintroduction attempts were abruptly canceled before being completed.
A 2015 public planning process to release grizzlies in the North Cascades was ended in 2017 by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. Mr. Zinke restarted the process in 2019, but that attempt ended in 2020.
Now, federal agencies, mainly the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have restarted the process in the environmental impact statement stage, which will weigh various options authorities have to reintroduce the bears.