Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has come out in support of releasing grizzly bears into north-central Washington, asserting the federal government’s reintroduction plan responds to the safety concerns of local residents.

In a letter to the National Park Service, Inslee endorsed a plan to airlift grizzlies captured from elsewhere to build up a population of at least 25 bears over five to 10 years. The long-term goal is to have 200 bears in the region.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has judged grizzlies in the North Cascade Range to be “nonessential” for the species’ survival, so land managers might have leeway to haze, move or lethally control problem bears.

The plan will allow conflicts to be managed and give people time to acclimate to grizzlies, Inslee stated. “This alternative demonstrates that the agencies have heard and are responsive to local concerns,” he said.

Republican state Sen. Shelly Short, who represents the region, said the plan does not respond to local concerns.

She questioned how responsive federal officials will be if grizzlies threaten people or livestock, especially if environmental groups pressure or sue agencies.

“It all sounds good on paper, but you don’t know what landowners are really going to be able to do,” she said. “It’s really easy for someone who isn’t going to be impacted first-hand to say the plan’s responsive to local concerns.”

Okanagon County Commissioner Andy Hover said people aren’t going to become acclimated to grizzlies. “You don’t know what they’re going to do, or where they’re going to be,” he said.

He called designating grizzly bears as a “nonessential population” a bid to “pacify people and create less opposition.”

“We’re a state managed by litigation,” he said. “There’s constant litigation and constant opposition to managing wildlife.”

No grizzly bear has been seen in the North Cascades since 1996. Washington legislators in 1995 passed a law to encourage the “natural regeneration of grizzly bears,” but forbade transplanting grizzlies. The law also directs the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to manage only “native bears.”

The bill passed the state Senate 44-5 and the House unanimously. It was signed by Gov. Mike Lowry, a Democrat.

Short said Inslee’s support for grizzly bear introduction “goes against the spirit and intent of the law and what the law states.”

The federal government has interpreted the law to apply to state wildlife managers, not federal managers. Inslee welcomed transplanting grizzlies.

“Grizzlies are native to Washington state and should be returned to their original station in nature, where they would help to restore our state’s natural heritage and ecosystem,” Inslee wrote.

In comments to the USFWS, Washington Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind noted the “complicated and overlapping nature” of state and federal wildlife laws.

Federal officials are proposing to release bears into the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area and several federal wilderness areas. Susewind encouraged releasing grizzlies in the park only, “where federal authority is more straightforward.”

“Should bears be released onto other ownerships, such as U.S. Forest Service lands, administrative complications would be heightened,” he wrote.