By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Just days after a California man was killed in a mountain lion attack, the Biden administration is reportedly preparing to reintroduce another apex predator into Washington’s North Cascades in what many believe is an effort to appease environmentalists instead of listening to local residents.
Killed in the California attack was Taylen Robert Claude Brooks, 21, who was hunting antler sheds with his 18-year-old brother, Wyatt Jay Charles Brooks. According to the Cowboy State Daily in Wyoming, mountain lion attacks are rare anywhere. However, earlier this year, a Washington woman was attacked by a cougar while bicycling on a forest trail with four other women, about 30 miles east of Seattle. This attack occurred about four miles from where, in 2018, another bicyclist was killed and his companion mauled by a cougar.
California Department of Fish & Wildlife wardens found the cougar that killed Brooks. Likewise, up in Washington, officers with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife responded to the attack on the bicyclist and shot the big cat. The woman’s companions had held the cougar under a bicycle for more than a half-hour until the agents arrived.
In Wyoming, the newspaper is noting how California banned cougar hunting many years ago, suggesting it was a mistake. Washington banned hunting cougars with hounds some 30 years ago. In Wyoming, the big cats may still be hunted with hounds and there is also a pursuit-only season which may have a deterrent effect by keeping them fearful of humans.
While that may work for mountain lions, there is no hunting for grizzly bears in the Lower 48 states, and residents in Okanogan County, which encompasses the North Cascades, are not happy with the reintroduction plan.
According to the Capital Press, the Biden administration plans to start airlifting grizzlies into the region “building up a population of at least 25 bears over five to 10 years.” There is plenty of opposition.
As noted by the Capital Press, the plan was shelved during the Trump administration in 2020 “in response to concerns from ranchers, farmers and local elected officials.” But soon as Joe Biden took office, the plan came back to life, with environmental groups celebrating.
Grizzlies are federally protected in the Lower 48. Washington State law forbids state wildlife officials from transporting the animals.
In addition to opposition from local Okanogan County residents, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is also critical of the plan.
