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2017-03-13 MINUTES 1 <br />COMMISSIONERS' MINUTES <br />KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON <br />COMMISSIONER’S AUDITORIUM <br />SPECIAL MEETING <br /> <br />MONDAY 11:00 A.M. MARCH 13, 2017 <br /> <br />Board members present: Chairman Obie O’Brien; Vice-Chairman Paul <br />Jewell & Commissioner Laura Osiadacz. <br /> <br />Others: Mandy Buchholz, Deputy Clerk of the Board II; Jack Oelfke, <br />Chief of Resources, North Cascades National Park Service Complex; <br />Gregg Kurz, Carnivore Biologist, US Fish and Wildlife Service, <br />Washington Fish and Wildlife Office and six members of the public. <br /> <br />SPECIAL MEETING GRIZZLY BEAR PRESENTATION COMMISSIONERS <br /> <br />At 11:00 a.m. Chairman Jewell opened a Special Meeting to receive a <br />presentation from Fish & Wildlife regarding the North Cascades <br />Grizzly Restoration. <br /> <br />Jack Oelfke, Chief of Natural and Cultural Resources, North Cascades <br />National Park Service Complex presented a power point presentation <br />that covered the following: Grizzly Bear current and historical <br />range in lower 48 states; timeline (1975-2014); Grizzly Bear <br />recovery zones; North Cascades ecosystem recovery zone; Grizzly Bear <br />Environmental Impact Statement(EIS); draft Grizzly Bear Restoration <br />Plan/EIS January 2017; alternatives A-D; criteria for source area <br />bears; proposed grizzly bear release areas; guidelines for grizzly <br />control actions; environmental consequences summary; EIS & key <br />milestones; how to comment on the plan/EIS; goal of public <br />review/comment period & response to substantive comments. <br /> <br />Jack Oelfke, Chief of Natural and Cultural Resources, North Cascades <br />National Park Service Complex provided a summary of the grizzly bear <br />restoration plan that started in 1997. He addressed the bear <br />recovery in Montana and Idaho and he said that the current plan for <br />grizzly bear restoration in the North Cascades ecosystem was ready <br />for public comments following which, it would be finalized and <br />implemented. Mr. Oelfke said that the goal was to reach a population <br />of 200 bears with a caring capacity of 280 and that the plan <br />outlined 4 alternatives to bear recovery in the North Cascades: <br />Alternative A: No action. Discontinue the plan they had been working <br />on for 20 years, focus instead on habitat management and see if <br />bears migrate into the region on their own. <br />Alternative B: Approach recovery slowly. Import 10 bears in the <br />first two years and evaluate, after the 4th year meet to decide how <br />to move forward in reaching their goal of 200 bears (which could <br />take up to 100 years).