Photo confirms grizzly in Washington's North Cascades

[Emily]

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially confirms a hiker's, (Joe Sebille), photo taken last fall confirms a sighting of a grizzly bear in Washington state's North Cascades.

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/07/01/1551968/photo-confirms-grizzly-in-washingtons.html

Friday, Jul. 01, 2011

Photo confirms grizzly in Washington's N. Cascades

Some sources are saying this is the first confirmed grizzly sighting in the Cascades in about 50 years, but that does not seem to be true.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2015486648_grizzly_bear_sighting_confirme.html

July 1, 2011 at 5:01 PM

Grizzly bear sighting confirmed in the North Cascades last fall

Posted by Mark Yuasa

[snip]
This is the first Class 1 report of a grizzly bear in the North Cascades ecosystem since 1996. Class 1 reports are considered verified sightings of a species that include physical evidence such as tracks or a photograph of the animal with a geographically-verifiable background.....

The confusion might be between the last grizzlies shot prior to protection, vs the last confirmed photo.

http://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/easy-pass-trail.htm

[snip]
The trail into Fisher Basin is steep and scenic. Massive Mt. Logan looms ahead. Lush meadows bloom in pinks, reds, purples, whites, and yellows. Deer and smaller mammals abound. Black bear are often seen grazing in the meadows, eating huckleberries. Just prior to protection under the National Park Act in 1968, one of the last grizzly bears in the North Cascades was shot here. The Fisher name comes from the Fisher brothers who ran a trap line here in the early 1900s....