Suggested Letter to the Editor

Submitting a Letter to the Editor (LTE) is a great way to spread the word about support for grizzly bear restoration! A sample LTE is copied below. Feel free to use this language, but please customize it for additional impact! For support regarding how and where to submit an LTE, please contact communications@conservationnw.org.

Dear editor,

The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have released a draft Environmental Impact Statement inviting public comment on the restoration of a functioning grizzly bear population in the North Cascades.

For thousands of years grizzly bears happily existed in the Pacific Northwest, foraging for berries, grazing and excavating mountain meadows, and playing an important role in our ecosystems. However, by the mid-20^th century unregulated hunting and poisoning left few grizzly bears in the Cascades, especially for a species that reproduces slowly. Today, human development and roadways create impenetrable barriers for grizzly bears in other areas, making access to the huge swath of prime habitat in and around North Cascades National Park immensely difficult.

Restoration would take place slowly over decades, and ultimately fewer than 200 bears would exist in over 10,000 square miles of recovery area. With straightforward tools and education about how to react to a bear encounter, grizzly bear populations already coexist with people in northeast Washington, Yellowstone and other areas with few livestock or human conflicts.

Restoring a healthy population of grizzlies equates to protecting everything that we value about the great Northwest. The North Cascades is one of the wildest places left in our nation, a landscape where all the native species present at the time of Lewis and Clark still roam. The grizzly bear is one of those creatures, but today these magnificent animals are on the verge of disappearing. In an age of increasing habitat loss and extinction, saving the North Cascades grizzly bear would be a success story for the ages. And it would create a lasting legacy for future generations. We have a responsibility to help grizzlies reclaim their historic place in our state before it’s too late.

I ask fellow readers to submit a comment in support of grizzly bear restoration, specifically Alternative C: Incremental Restoration. The Northwest will be stronger and wilder because of it.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME AND TOWN/CITY HERE