WINTER SPORTS -- Silver Mountain Resort plans to open its lifts for skiers on Friday, Nov. 29, joining the rest of the region's ski resorts in opening limited terrain to take advantage of early season snow. Although Schweitzer Mountain Resort does its own thing with…
WINTER SPORTS -- As more backcountry skiers use roads and parking areas plowed by ski resorts and then strap on skins and climb their way up groomed or controlled slopes to reach their backcountry destinations, the U.S. Forest Service has proposed a rule change that…
WILDLIFE -- Wild turkeys are found across Idaho, and there’s even an open hunting season on them right now in the Panhandle Region and portions of the Clearwater. But wild turkeys are not native to the state. Merriam's strain turkeys were introduced by the Idaho…
PUBLIC LANDS -- The Clearwater National Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) has been released to guide where motor vehicles can be used on the forest. The published maps, which answer frequently asked questions about roads and trails open to motorized traffic, are available online…
Updated 11-26-13 at 9 a.m. with correction from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. WILDLIFE -- Just in time for Thanksgiving! Montana's online permitting system to legally take possession of road-killed big game goes operational today. A new state law allows people to salvage deer, elk,…
Habitat loss blamed for decline in monarch butterflies, wild bees The return of the monarch butterflies to central Mexico didn't happen on Nov. 1 this year, but instead just a fraction of the millions of butterflies expected straggled in a week late, and the decline…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Birders and biologists were scratching their heads last week at reports of the dearth of bald eagles gathering to feed on on spawning kokanee at Lake Coeur d'Alene's Wolf Lodge Bay. Could the revival of kokanee at Lake Pend Oreille be detouring…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.