We invite you to honor this day by taking action to stop an unprecedented threat to endangered species here in NE Washington and across the nation.
You can help – See action items below!
NE Washington with its mountain, forest, and shrub-steppe habitats is home to several federally and state-listed endangered species. Key species include the Grizzly Bear, Canada lynx, Gray Wolf, Woodland Caribou, Fisher, and Sharp-Tailed Grouse. These species are under threat from habitat loss, fragmentation, and historical persecution.
In honor of Endangered Species Day- we are celebrating grizzly bears. A small, threatened population of 50–60 grizzly bears live in the Selkirk Mountains of Northeast Washington, Northern Idaho, and British Columbia, with roughly a dozen residing in Washington. The Salmo-Priest Wilderness is a key area for these bears, which are distinct from the population being reintroduced to the North Cascades.
The Selkirk Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone includes the Colville National Forest east of the Pend Oreille River and Highway 31. In addition to this small Selkirk grizzly population in the northeast corner of Washington, grizzly bears have also been documented in the “Wedge” area approximately 50 miles to the west between Highway 395 and the Columbia River near the Canadian border. These are likely transboundary bears who primarily reside in British Columbia.
Grizzly bears are listed as an endangered species by the state of Washington (designated in 1980) due to their critically low populations and absence from most of their historic habitat. Once numbering 50,000-100,000 strong, fewer than 2,000 grizzly bears now survive in the Lower 48 states and occupy less than 2% of their former range.
Actions to Take:
- Help Protect Grizzly Bears- Visit BearsBelong.com
- Protect the Endangered Species Act. The ESA -around since 1973- has a near-perfect record of preventing extinction, with 99% of species listed under the Act having survived and hundreds on the path to recovery. A dangerous piece of legislation is moving through Congress — and it threatens to tear apart the Endangered Species Act.
Oppose the ESA Amendments Act (H.R. 1897)
The ESA Amendments Act is a short-sighted attempt to rewrite the Endangered Species Act, putting powerful industry interests ahead of smart, science-based protections for our most vulnerable wildlife.
#bearsbelong
