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There are no confirmed grizzlies in Oregon and the state has no plan to reintroduce the predators
The Baker County Board of Commissioners has approved a resolution opposing reintroduction of grizzly bears to the county and to Northeastern Oregon in general.
Commissioners approved the resolution by 3-0 vote on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Union County commissioners passed a similar resolution on Sept. 3.
Baker County Commissioner Christina Witham introduced the resolution, noting that Doni Bruland, the county’s natural resources director, recommended commissioners approve the document.
Although there are no documented grizzly bears in Oregon, and the state has no plans to reintroduce the predators, Witham pointed out that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service proposed in 2024 to transplant grizzly bears into North Cascades National Park in northern Washington.
Witham said grizzly bears can have home ranges of 500 or more square miles, so even if the animals are released far from Baker County, they could potentially migrate into the county.
That’s what happened with gray wolves after the federal government transplanted them into Idaho and Montana in the 1990s.
The first confirmed wolf in Oregon was tracked in Baker County in 1999. Today, there are more than 200 wolves in Oregon, with the majority living in the northeast corner.
Wolves have killed or injured several dozen head of cattle in the region over the past decade. Witham said she’s concerned that adding grizzly bears to the predator population could pose another threat to livestock, as well as to herds of deer and elk.
Witham said she’s seen a photograph of what she believes was a grizzly bear, taken in Baker County.
Commissioner Chairman Shane Alderson said he wouldn’t be surprised if a grizzly bear were seen in a place such as the Eagle Cap Wilderness.
Witham said passing the resolution ensures that Baker County has a legal record of its opposition to grizzly bears.
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