Grizzly Bears In the USA and the North Cascades

Past and Present

Since pre-historic times, grizzly bears have been a part of the west.  Before Europeans arrived, grizzly bears were thriving in all western states ranging as far south as Mexico.  Population levels in the lower 48 states are estimated to have been between 50,000 - 100,000 grizzly bears.

Native Americans co-existed with grizzly bears for thousands of years.  Grizzly bears were honored and respected by Native Americans for their intelligence, strength and mystical power.  Grizzly bears quickly became an icon of the American west, attracting adventurers from all over the world.

In the lower 48 states, grizzly bears currently live in less than two percent of their former range, and number around 1,100 bears (less than two percent of their original population).

[Following section extracted from 'Grizzly bears', by David J. Mattson, R. Gerald Wright, Katherine C. Kendall, Clifford J. Martinka, National Biological Service. Full article].

Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) once roamed over most of the western United States from the high plains to the Pacific coast. In the Great Plains, they seem to have favored areas near rivers and streams, where conflict with humans was also likely. These grassland grizzlies also probably spent considerable time searching out and consuming bison that died from drowning, birthing, or winter starvation, and so were undoubtedly affected by the elimination of bison from most of the Great Plains in the late 1800's. They are potential competitors for most foods valued by humans, including domesticated livestock and agricultural crops, and under certain limited conditions are also a potential threat to human safety. For these and other reasons, grizzly bears in the United States were vigorously sought out and killed by European settlers in the 1800's and early 1900's.

Maps above: Approximate distribution of grizzly bears in 1850 compared to 1920 (a; Merriam 1922) and 1970-90 (b). Local extinction dates, by state, appear in (a). Populations identified in (b) are NCE -- North Cascades ecosystem, SE -- Selkirk ecosystem, CYE -- Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem, BE -- Bitterroot ecosystem, NCDE -- Northern Continental Divide ecosystem, GYE -- Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. As indicated in (b), a grizzly was killed in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado in 1979.

Between 1850 and 1920 grizzly bears were eliminated from 95% of their original range, with extirpation occurring earliest on the Great Plains and later in remote mountainous areas (Fig. 1a). Unregulated killing of bears continued in most places through the 1950's and resulted in a further 52% decline in their range between 1920 and 1970 (Fig. 1b). Grizzly bears survived this last period of slaughter only in remote wilderness areas larger than 26,000 km² (10,000 mi²). Altogether, grizzly bears were eliminated from 98% of their original range in the contiguous United States during a 100-year period.

Because of this dramatic decline and the uncertain status of grizzly bears in areas where they had survived, their populations in the contiguous United States were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1975. High levels of grizzly bear mortality in the Yellowstone area during the early 1970's were also a major impetus for this listing. Grizzly bears persist as identifiable populations in five areas (Fig. 1b): the Northern Continental Divide, Greater Yellowstone, Cabinet-Yaak, Selkirk, and North Cascade ecosystems. All these populations except Yellowstone's have some connection with grizzlies in southern Canada, although the current status and future prospects of Canadian bears are subject to debate. The U.S. portions of these five populations exist in designated recovery areas, where they receive full protection of the Endangered Species Act. 

Grizzly bears potentially occur in two other areas: the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado and the Bitterroot ecosystem of Idaho and Montana. There are no plans for augmenting or recovering grizzlies in the San Juan Mountains, and serious consideration has been given to reintroducing grizzlies into the Bitterroots as an "experimental nonessential" population.

In the case of the North Cascades, Hudson Bay Company trapping records show that 3,788 grizzly bear hides were shipped from trading posts in the area between 1827 and 1859.  The decimation of the North Cascades grizzly bear population continued for more than a century with commercial trapping, habitat loss, and unregulated hunting the leading causes of death. The last grizzly bear to be killed in the North Cascades of Washington was in 1967 in Fisher Creek (in what is now North Cascades National Park).

Of North Cascades grizzly bear sightings reported to government agencies between 1950 and 1991, 20 were confirmed and an additional 81 were considered highly probable. Today, the estimated resident population in Washington’s North Cascades is between 5 and 20 bears (the estimated population in British Columbia’s North Cascades is also 5-20 bears).  Most likely the home ranges of a small number of grizzly bears span the border. 

The map on the left shows grizzly bear observations in Washington State (including the Selkirk Mountains) between 1978 and 1998. Yellow dots represent verified sightings, red dots are highly reliable, blue dots are moderately reliable, and green dots are unverified sightings.

For a full chronology of events related to grizzly bears in the North Cascades of Washington, click here.

For a series of short historical grizzly bear accounts in the North Cascades please click here.

For more observation information, click here.

Below left: Grizzly bear pelt. Photo from Chelan archives.
Below right: This grizzly bear track photograph was taken on Bacon Peak (Whatcom County) in 1989. It shows the elongated claw marks on the front track (the lower of the two), and also the "shallow" toe arc that is typical of grizzly bears (and not black bears). To learn more about identifying the difference between grizzly and black bear tracks, click here.

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