WILDLIFE WATCHING -- A windfall of local nature expertise is converging at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge on May 31 to give programs and lead tours on everything from bugs to wildflowers. This is the perfect antedote for nature deficit syndrome or simply for filling gaps…
NATIONAL PARKS -- Bikers and hikers heading to Glacier National Park are lucky dogs this holiday weekend: The Going to the Sun Road as far as it is plowed toward Logan Pass is all yours; no motor vehicles allowed. Check the park's website for more…
FISHING – Spring chinook salmon fisheries on two sections of the Snake River will close for the season after four more days of fishing in each area, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department has announced. Fishing for spring chinook in the Clarkston area continues today…
CRITTER WATCH -- Here's my favorite birding story of the day, courtesy of the Associated Press in Montana: Everyone has heard of homing pigeons, but Montana fifth-grader Tara Atkins apparently has a “schooling pigeon.” The pet bird named Foresta had disappeared Tuesday from Tara’s home…
THREATENED SPECIES -- Our big bears need lots of room to roam, something that's in short supply in our ever-more-developed world. Grizzly bears in NW Montana face trio of obstacles An estimated 45 grizzly bears reside in the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem in the northwest corner of…
FISHING -- A veteran Spokane fly fisher said he had Coffee Pot Lake virtually to himself on Tuesday and the fishing for rainbow trout was very good. He fished chironomids and was hitting big trout in water as shallow as 8 feet on the far…
PUBLIC LANDS -- President Obama is using his presidential power to end-around the gridlock in Washington to give better protection to choice public lands. President Obama designates national monument in New Mexico At a press conference Wednesday, President Obama designated 500,000 acres in New Mexico…
CAMPING -- Choosing an RV for camping is intensely personal. "You'll get a different answer from almost everyone you talk to," said Larry Dach, a Spokane natives who retired and became a full-time RVer with his wife, Susan. The Dachs have a lifestyle that involves…
SHOOTING -- Amanda Furrer, 23, flew into town this week to be with family and celebrate her silver medal from last weekend -- a performance that won her a berth on the U.S.Women's World Championship Shooting Team. Two years ago Furrer won a similar match…
CAMPING -- The closure sign for Dragoon Creek Campground was removed Wednesday after this photo was snapped and the campground is scheduled to open Friday in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The campground, managed by the state Department of Natural Resources, has been closed…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- "This is the first fawn we’ve seen this year – we took a couple quick images and moved on – mom was still working on having another one!" says Montana outdoor photographer Jaime Johnson. Wildlife officials in Washington, Idaho and Montana all…
PARKS -- Cayuse Pass, the scenic route to Mount Rainier, is open and ready for traffic. And the park is ready, too, as the Paradise area opened on Wednesday. If you've never driven Highway 410 over Cayuse Pass you're in for a treat: Mount Rainier…
BICYCLING -- As of today, 716 riders have registered (limit is 900) for the annual 24-Hours Round the Clock mountain bike race and camping extravaganza at the Seven Mile area of Riverside State Park this Memorial Day Weekend. Take a quick look at the team…
BOATING -- Blackwell Island boat launch, a popular Bureau of Land Management recreation site on Lake Coeur d'Alene, will open for the season on Thursday for the season, the Coeur d'Alene BLM office reports. The site will be open daily from 5 a.m. to 11…
SHOOTING -- Exploding targets are officially a no-no on national forests throughout the West. Citing public safety concerns and the potential for igniting wildfires, Northern Region Forester Faye Krueger has signed a regional closure order prohibiting unpermitted explosives on national forest system lands, specifically to…
BICYCLING -- The Route of The Hiawatha rail-trail near Lookout Pass is set to open for the 2014 summer season on Friday, May 24. See my feature story and photos on this "Idaho bucket list" family adventure. The 15-mile route for mountain biking or hiking…
FLYING -- My bicycle commute up the South Hill and along High Drive is never dull. The bluff trails invite all sorts of people and recreation, such as hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers, runners, families, people on the verge of making families.... Last night I…
SHOOTING -- Amanda Furrer, a product of the Spokane Junior Rifle Team who shot her way to the 2012 London Olympics, continues to be on the world stage. On Saturday, Furrer, 23, won a silver medal in the U.S. Championships at Fort Benning, Georgia, to…
PUBLIC LANDS -- While volunteers are signing up for major efforts to spiff up trails during the upcoming national trails week, groups already have been sprucing up the South Hill slopes and trails below High Drive. John Schram of the Friends of the Bluff sums…
HUNTING -- Here's some disturbing news from Montana, which we might have considered to be the "last best place" for sage grouse: With preliminary results from Montana’s spring surveys showing a continued population decline of the state’s largest native upland game bird, wildlife officials will…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- "Only in Alaska," says Levi Perry in posting a YouTube video of a cow moose giving birth to twins -- in the backyard of his girlfriend's home on the east-side of Anchorage. The video captured Sunday by Victoria Hickey and Sarah Lochner…
PUBLIC LANDS -- Tinelle Bustam, Public Services Staff Officer on the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, is heading to Washington to become the Republic District ranger on the Colville National Forest starting June 5. Bustam, has been with the Forest Service for four…
FISHING -- People with ideas about how to improve state sportfishing rules in the Columbia River Basin have until May 30 to submit their proposals to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. State fish managers will consider proposed rules submitted by the public for…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Perhaps only a bluebird could sing the blues on a spring morning like a Lazuli bunting. Thanks for getting our day off on the right note, Montana outdoor photographer Jaime Johnson.
HUNTING -- Special big-game hunting permit applications for 2014 seasons are coming due in the Inland Northwest. Washington's deadline is Thursday, May 22. See details here. Montana's next deadline is June 2. See details here. Idaho's first deadline is June 5. See details here.
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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