NORTH CASCADES, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A plan to reintroduce Grizzly Bears to the North Cascades is moving forward.

The National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife released a final environmental impact statement (EIS) that weighs multiple options for reintroduction.

One would provide land managers and communities with additional management tools not otherwise available to manage the restored population.

Another is a “no action” plan that would translocate grizzly bears under existing protections.

All options are based on a number of topics, including impacts to other wildlife, recreation, safety, and socioeconomics.

NPS says they received over 12,000 public comments that played a key role in the development of the EIS.

Grizzlies roamed the North Cascades for thousands of years and were a vital part of the ecosystem but in the 20th century, humans nearly hunted them to extinction.

The last confirmed sighting of a grizzly bear in the North Cascades was in 1996.