BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Looks like grizzly bears are coming back to our neck of the woods.

The National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced Thursday they will actively restore grizzlies to the North Cascades.

The agencies said they’ll restore the bears through translocation from other ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains or interior British Columbia. They’ll try to move three to seven grizzly bears per year for a period of five to 10 years to establish an initial population of 25 bears.

Public feedback played a key role in the decision. Andrew LaValle from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said in an email that 12,788 correspondences were received on the issue during the public comment period.

LaValle added some comments expressed enthusiasm for returning this piece of the ecosystem, while others expressed concern for human safety, property or the welfare of the animals. Towards the end of the finalized plan is compiled comments where responses from NPS are provided for questions raised in some of those correspondences.

There is no set timeline for translocation of the grizzlies yet, but NPS said they’ll publish updates on the park website as plans develop.