British Columbia this fall will begin its most ambitious wildlife reintroduction effort ever, a long-term plan to increase grizzly bear populations in the core of its North Cascades mountain range. The Environment Ministry hopes to increase the population in the 3,800 square-mile area from fewer than 25 individuals to 150 bears by 2050. Trapping and shooting nearly wiped out grizzlies in the mid-1800s, and while the bear has hung on since then, the population in the North Cascades is now considered too small to recover on its own.
