FISHNG – The Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club's 68th annual Spring Derby will kick off with a pin auction fundraiser Friday (April 26), 7 p.m., April 26 at the Sandpoint Elks Club. Fishing runs Saturday through May 5 with a payout of more than $15,000,…
GEOLOGY -- “Anatomy of Cheney-Palouse Scabland Tract,” a free lecture by geologist Gene Kiver, will be presnted by the Ice Age Floods Institute, 7 p.m., on May 3 at the JFK Library Auditorium, Eastern Washington University, Cheney campus. Sign-up in advance for the May 4…
CONSERVATION -- About 200 volunteers chipped in today to start a major revamping of the Dishman Hills Natural Area trail system. Groups such as the Spokane Mountaineers and Gonzaga University student programs turned out in the Spokane Valley for the annual service day organized by…
RIVERS – Thomas O’Keefe of American Whitewater will update paddlers on the approval for removing Mill Pond Dam on Sullivan Creek and other river-liberating projects in a program for the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club Monday, april 22 7 p.m., at Mountain Gear Corporate Headquarters,…
ENVIRONMENT – “Chasing Ice,” a fascinating and award-winning National Geographic documentary about adventure-scientist documenting changes in the arctic will be presented by the Idaho Conservation League and other local environmental groups on Monday, 7 p.m., at the Panida Theater in Sandpoint. Read on for details…
PUBLIC LANDS -- Volunteers are planning to pick up and spruce up a couple of prized outdoors recreation features in the Spokane area this weekend. Unveil the (Centennial) Trail, Saturday (April 20), 9 a.m.-noon About 350 volunteers have pre-registered for the annual clean-up, working in…
WILDLIFE -- A reader submitted this photo snapped Wednesday off I-90 between Wallace and Mullan. She said the eyes appeared blue like those of a husky, but the animal ran away as though it were wild. What's your guess? Wolf, wolf hybrid or husky? Click…
HUNTING -- What are you doing on the fourth day of the spring gobbler hunting season in Washington and Idaho? Montana outdoor photographer Jaime Johnson bagged this tom with his Canon.
RIVERS -- The 2013 USA Jet River Racing Series kicks off this weekend (April 19-21) with the 29th Annual Salmon RIVER Jet Boat Races near Riggins, Idaho. About 20 jet boat teams from Canada and the United States are expected to compete. Teams will be…
FISHING -- Of concern to anglers: B.C., Idaho, Montana river watershed on American Rivers' endangered list Five open-pit coal mines in the Fernie-area Elk River watershed, a major tributary of the Kootenai River, an international watershed that covers 18,000 square miles in British Columbia, Montana…
PREDATORS -- A wolf witnessed hunting a deer in a Wenatchee residential area Tuesday is a dose of reality a little too close to home for some people. It's a reminder that urban deer need to be controlled, and that we need to have measures…
PARKS -- Suddenly it seems as though summer will happen. Washington's North Cascades Highway, a gateway to North Cascades National Park, opened Tuesday, weeks earlier than last year because of a thinner snow pack. The route gives easier East-West access across the northern region of…
FISHING/EATING -- You don't have to fly to Alaska to sample a bit of the Hook It, Cook It action I wrote about a few weeks ago. Visit Szmania's Restaurant in Seattle on Saturday (April 20) and taste for yourself. Hook It, Cook It is…
PUBLIC LANDS – The annual volunteer cleanup of the Washington Coast, set for Saturday (April 20) is a remarkable success story. Gov. Jay Inslee has proclaimed it Washington Coast Cleanup Day to help match last year's effort when more than 1,300 volunteers removed 30 tons…
FISHING -- Dworshak Reservoir’s kokanee fishery surprised anglers in 2012, as notoriously small kokanee finally showed some size. The fish were growing to the 13-inch range in response to the nutrient enhancement project Idaho Fish and Game and the Corps of Engineers have been conducting…
TRAILS -- In mid-April last year, several off-leash dogs were attacked by coyotes that were defending the territory around a den near a popular South Hill bluff trail below High Drive. Candace Hultberg-Bennett, a local wildlife biologist, will present a short program on what people…
ENDANGERED SPECIES – A day before the Washington Legislature’s deadline for bills to be considered by the opposite house, two wolf-related proposals are still alive. But despite their merits and being approved by the state Senate, they’re gasping in the House -- as a new…
FISHING -- The Spokane Fly Fishers' club outing to Omak Lake last weekend was a success, according to the photo (above) and brief report from Mike Berube: The club's outing to Omak Lk this past weekend was a good time. Everyone caught fish.... Threw streamers…
TRAILS -- Development of the 28.5-mile Ferry County Rail Trail from Republic along the Kettle River to the U.S. Canada border is getting a boost with an auction item signed by celebrities. A Longboard Skate - donated to Ferry County Rail Trail Partners by Spokane…
BACKPACKING -- Olympic National Park is accepting reservation requests for wilderness camping areas with overnight use limits by fax or postal mail only. Phone reservations are no longer accepted. Limits on overnight use in high-use wilderness camp areas are in effect May 1-Sept. 30 to…
FISHING – A fundraising dinner benefitting “Casting for Recovery” is set for April 27 at the Coeur d’Alene Inn, 506 W. Apple Way Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Tickets $30, $50 for two. Email dlonderee@roadrunner.com or phone (208) 683-1759. The program benefits cancer survivors, who can apply…
HUNTING -- The first day of the spring gobbler hunting season is drawing to a close. "I almost got my turkey today," said George Orr in a voicemail message just before the end of legal shooting hours. "It ran right in front of me as…
HUNTING – Allowing lighted nocks for bowhunting was among 17 measures adopted for the 2013 hunting seasons during the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting Saturday in Oympia. Jim Sutton of Spokane has worked for several years to get the commission to approve the use…
BOATING -- The level of Lake Roosevelt is about 1274 feet today, and it's begun a steady downward trend to make room for spring runoff. But Columbia River dam operators don't expect the drawdown to be nearly as severe as in recent years, having less…
Following are some of the top recent regional outdoors stories in The Spokesman-Review: 2013 is 'year of the kokanee' for Inland NW anglers See 2013 Fishing Guide for a dozen stories on the region's fisheries Paddlers plead for river access in Convention Center expansion design…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.