Newhouse Reacts To Final Impact Statement On Grizzlies

Washington's 4th District U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Sunnyside) is voicing his opinion of the federal government's final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the potential reintroduction of grizzly bears to the North Cascades.

Newhouse released a statement late Thursday saying the The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service have each shown a "blatant disregard for public opinion" throughout their process to determine if grizzlies should be reintroduced to the region.

"I'm disappointed that the agency is on a track to bring grizzly bears to the North Cascades when it's very clear that the vast majority of residents in North Central Washington don't think this is a good idea," says Newhouse. "This is a formality. It's essentially giving them permission to do exactly what they want to do."

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Newhouse says the language within the final EIS released earlier Thursday appears to pave the way for the federal government's proposal to place grizzly bears back on the landscape of the North Cascades.

He was also critical of the Biden Administration for being "more intent on pushing policies about Central Washingtonians than for them."

"This is yet another example of the Biden Administration just ignoring the people in favor of others who don't even live in the area. People that may have environmental or other concerns but who may live in Seattle or California or New York. But the people who will have to live with these bears every single day, they're being ignored."

Plans call for three to seven grizzly bears to be brought into the ecosystem annually over the next five to ten years, with the possibility of over 200 of the apex predators living in the region within the next 60 to 100 years.

The EIS does not include a final decision on reintroducing grizzlies. That finding will be released within the next 30 days.