ENDANGERED SPECIES -- An outdoorsman who knew how to use a good camera captured sharp images of a tagged gray wolf on Feb. 11 that had wandered into Chelan County. Craig Monette of Chelan the photos to Washington Fish and Wildlife biologists who were able…
HUNTING -- An anonymous hunter has paid an all-time record $480,000 for a special permit offered by the state of Montana to hunt a wild mountain sheep with liberal rules on dates and areas. The winning bids for tags offered by Montana and other states,…
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- Although the unofficial estimates have been out for weeks, the Washington Fish and Wildlife today confirmed that the number of confirmed gray wolves and wolf packs in the state nearly doubled during the past year. Based on field reports and aerial monitoring…
FISHING -- Rule changes for salmon and steelhead fishing, including a two-week late-March closure, will take effect next month on the Wind River, a popular Columbia River fishery. Click "continue reading" for the details posted today by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:
POACHING -- Up to $5,000 in rewards is being offered for a tip that leads to the conviction of the culprits in the latest spree poaching case in Eastern Washington. Five white-tailed deer, including two bucks and three does, were discovered in the Grand Coulee…
WINTER SPORTS -- Backcountry snowgoers have been finding great conditions here and there, an reasonably safe slopes. "Look for sheltered areas to have the lightest surface snow," says Kevin Davis in today's avalanche conditions report from the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center. "Exposed slopes were firm…
WILDLIFE -- The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has scheduled three public meetings in northeast Washington this month to discuss wolf-livestock conflict management. The meetings will run from 6 to 8 p.m. as follows: Feb. 26 in Cusick at the Cusick Community Center, 107…
PUBLIC LANDS -- The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is looking for camp hosts for two campgrounds in its Coeur d’Alene District, in the Idaho Panhandle. Mica Bay Boaters Park, about 10 minutes south of Coeur d’Alene, is a boat-in recreation site that offers 15…
HUNTING -- Reaction to my outdoors column about hunting being a form of tough love has included several readers suggesting there's a sixth stage of hunter development: The Non-Killing Stage. This would be the stage in which a hunter no longer has the energy, enthusiasm…
PUBLIC LANDS -- In the making for several years, the U.S. Forest Service has decided to consolidate the Nez Perce and Clearwater national forests into one administrative office and create a new headquarters for the merger in the small, timber town of Kamiah. U.S. Forest…
HUNTING -- Wyoming hunters could use sound suppressors on firearms for all types of hunting under a bill that cleared the state House of Representatives on Wednesday, according to the Casper Star-Tribune. The House stripped an amendment it had adopted earlier this week that would…
PREDATORS -- A wolf management bill that was fast-tacked through the Montana Legislature was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Steve Bullock. Bullock said the law will allow hunters to purchase up to three wolf licenses and lowers the price of a nonresident wolf license…
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in the process of moving about 50 Columbian white-tailed deer from a refuge near Cathlamet where they could drown because an old dike is expected to fail. If they didn’t drown the deer -- the…
FISHING -- Holy heresy! The Washington Fish and Wildlife Department is considering the image of a bass for a logo in its statewide “Fish Washington” campaign. Actually, that decision already has been made. Instead of taking a stand, the state fisheries managers chose to have…
POACHING -- The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is seeking information on the illegal shooting of three deer within the boundaries of Dalton Gardens, a small community in Kootenai County just north of Coeur d’Alene. The incidents occurred between Thursday, February 7 and Saturday…
CONSERVATION -- If you use parks, trails or public open spaces in Spokane County, you have been a beneficiary of the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Program. (Click on this link and check out the more than impressive projects list under "campaigns.") It's a state program…
WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT -- Equipped with four-wheel drive vehicles and their knowledge of the woods in rugged terrain, California Fish and Wildlife police were key to cornering Christopher Dorner, the state's most-wanted killer Tuesday. Wildlife enforcement officers routinely deal with a well-armed clientelle. But this case…
RIVERS -- My group of river-running hopefuls are feeling left out after all of us received "unsuccessful" notices from the annual lottery for summer floating permits on Salmon River through Idaho's River of No Return Wilderness. The Forest Service permits for the Salmon, Middle Fork,…
MAPPING -- Google Maps, which changed the world of giving directions with it's online map selections, has stretched its street view capability to the ski slopes. Schweitzer Mountain Resort is represented among 38 new maps generated by Google featuring "slope views" of every run and…
HUNTING -- What are the chances that Wyoming legislators will listen to wildlife enforcement professionals and landowners and keep rifle sound supressors off-limits for hunting? "The suppressors themselves might not be a total fair chase issue, but when you're talking about extremely long range rifles…
WILDLIFE -- Helicopters are getting ready to fly for a wide-ranging wildlife research effort in Idaho's Clearwater region. Idaho Fish and Game Department wildlife biologists are gearing up for helicopter surveys and radio collaring elk, moose and wolves in Big Game Management Unit 10. In…
PUBLIC LANDS -- The Idaho Fish and Game Department is joining Framing Our Community and the Dust Devils ATV Club in applying for a grant from Idaho Parks and Recreation to build an all terrain vehicle trailhead, shelter and restroom on the edge of the…
FLY FISHING -- Davy Wotton, a fly-fishing entrepreneur and professional since the 1960s, will present a program of the history, development and fishing of the soft hackle fly in a program sponsored by the Spokane Fly Fishers Wednesday, 7 p.m. at St. Francis School, 1104…
HUNTING – “I hunt therefore I am (what)?” Everyone might have a different word to fill in the blank in that phrase: condemnable, capable, cold-hearted, complete…. Fill in he blank as you see fit, but not before you give me a shot at explaining why…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- For the first time since 1974, the Idaho Senate has rejected the governor’s nominee for a slot on the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, voting 19-16 against confirming Joan Hurlock, only the second woman ever to serve on the panel. Read the…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
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