Bitter cold didn't stop snowshoers at Mount Spokane
WINTERSPORTS -- Cold is relative when you're having fun at Mount Spokane, where the temperatures dropped below zero this past week -- to the delight of some skiers and snowshoers.
Outdoors blog archive for Jan. 1, 2016
MONDAY, DEC. 19, 2016
SATURDAY, DEC. 17, 2016
John Muir Trail hiking tips offered by locals
HIKING – Tips on hiking a classic 220-mile route through the high Sierra-Nevada Range of California will be presented by the Spokane Mountaineers at 7 p.m. on Monday at Mountain Gear Corporate Headquarters, 6021 E. Mansfield Ave. in Spokane Valley. Luke Bakken and Natasha Volkmann,…
FRIDAY, DEC. 16, 2016
Falling fish fries powerlines in Seattle
FISH STORIES – Utility officials say a falling fish knocked out power to nearly 200 customers this week in Seattle. While the city is famous for throwing and catching fish in Pike Place Market, this fish apparently was fumbled by a wild bird of prey.…
Judge rejects effort to remove Olympic National Park cabins 1
PUBLIC LANDS -- Maintaining historic cabins with helicopter support is OK in wilderness, according to a federal judge who has rejected efforts by an environmental group to force Olympic National Park to remove five wilderness cabins it recently rebuilt or repaired. The organization, Montana-based Wilderness...
THURSDAY, DEC. 15, 2016
Public lands: what's at stake in Trump administration 1
PUBLIC LANDS -- President-elect Trump has been sending mixed signals on how his policies will treat treasured public lands. His son, Donald Trump Jr., said the Trump administration will be a good steward. But some Republicans are champing at the bit to seize federal public...
Avalanche awareness sessions offered in Sandpoint
WINTERSPORTS – Two avalanche awareness seminars will be be offered free this month in Sandpoint. Selkirk Powder Company and the Alpine Shop have teamed to host the one-hour seminars promoting avalanche awareness for outdoor enthusiasts, especially those in the Selkirk and Cabinet mountains. On Dec....
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14, 2016
Bald eagles near record count at Lake CdA
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Despite difficult viewing conditions, a near-record count of bald eagles was tallied today in the weekly winter survey at Lake Coeur d'Alene. Carrie Hugo, U.S. Bureau of Land Management wildlife biologist, counted 257 eagles in the Wolf Lodge Bay and Beauty Bay...
Birds fluff up and take winter cold in stride
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- For being light a fragile, birds are incredible at surviving cold that drives humans indoors. Birds are warm blooded, which means their bodies maintain a constant temperature, often around 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Since they can't just throw a log on the fire,…
Grizzly bear experts ponder delisting at Missoula meeting
WILDLIFE -- A conservation strategy for managing recovered grizzly bear populations has been the main focus of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee is holding its final meeting of 2016 Tuesday and today in Missoula. "From a single grizzly sighted in the Big Hole basin where…
Down was made for weathering winter
WATERFOWL -- Ducks -- you'll find them looking for open water during this cold snap -- are models promoting the effective qualities of down insulation as they hang out comfortably in below-zero conditions. Down is the lightest most compressible and efficient natural insulator for cold-weather…
TUESDAY, DEC. 13, 2016
Zinke may have Trumped McMorris Rodgers for Interior secretary
PUBLIC LANDS -- The Washington Post is reporting this afternoon that President-elect Donald Trump has decided on first-term Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke as his Secretary of the Interior – not Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador or Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. "This isn’t the official word."...
Ice firming on winter fishing lakes
FISHING -- Fourth of July Lake south of Sprague was still skimpy on safe ice this afternoon, but Hog Canyon Lake in the Fishtrap area was firming up nicely in this week's cold snap. The two winter trout fishing lakes opened the Friday after Thanksgiving...
Eagle, peregrine fly free of sensitive species protections in Washington
WILDLIFE -- Bald eagles and peregrine falcons have been removed from Washington's state list of “sensitive species" by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. Both species had been protected under the federal Endangered Species Act starting in the 1970s. The commission’s action on Friday to...
Scotchman Peaks Wilderness bill and map released
PUBLIC LANDS -- Here is a summary of what's involved in the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness Act (S.3531) introduced in the U.S. Senate on Dec. 8 by Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho: Designates approximately 14,000 acres of Wilderness in the Bonner County, Idaho, portion of the Scotchman...
Sportsmen, commercials feud over Columbia River fishing reforms
FISHING – Sport fishermen from Southwest Washington repeatedly exhorted the state Fish and Wildlife Commission on Saturday to implement fully in 2017 the most sweeping reforms in Columbia River salmon management in decades. And their commercial foes, also from Southwest Washington, were equally strident that…
MONDAY, DEC. 12, 2016
Winter sports season gets off to rough start
WINTERSPORTS -- The skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling season has barely started for 2016-2017 and already the misadventures and fatalities are being logged. Among them: Skier dies in tree well at Snoqualmie Pass Skier dies in southwestern Montana avalanche Crystal Mountain out-of-bounds skier lost overnight, but...
Spout Springs ski area closed; cites snowmobile concerns
WINTERSPORTS -- The owner of an Oregon ski area says he won’t open this season because of concerns about snowmobiles creating an unsafe environment in his parking lot. Spout Springs Ski Area owner John Murray says the slopes are otherwise ready to open but that…
Colville offers grants for forest health projects
PUBLIC LANDS -- Individuals, non-profit organizations and local governments are invited by the Colville National Forest to submit applications for projects ranging from weed control to road and facilities improvements. Officials have $638,000 available for this year’s projects to improve the 1.1-million acre forest in…
Skier dies in tree well at Snoqualmie Pass
WINTERSPORTS – A man is dead after falling into a tree well at the Alpental ski area at Snoqualmie Pass. The King County Sheriff’s Office says another man was skiing with the victim just after 2 p.m. Sunday and saw him plunge into the tree...
Wild turkeys cause power outages in Oregon town
WILDLIFE – A flock of wild turkeys, long considered menaces to one Oregon town, have sparked new ire after causing power outages in the eastern part of Medford. The Mail Tribune reports that wild turkeys flying into Pacific Power Lines have caused four morning outages…
Whitetail bucks' attention turning to winter survival
HUNTING -- As winter advances, the rut is waning and whitetail bucks are beginning to think less about procreation and more about surviving. Montana outdoor photographer Jaimie Johnson says this buck was loosing interest in does last week.
FRIDAY, DEC. 9, 2016
Family following GPS directions stuck overnight in mountains
WINTER TRAVEL -- A Portland family spent Thursday night in their snowbound car in southern Oregon after following their GPS’s directions. The Daily Courier reports that a husband, wife, 9-year-old child and their dog became snowbound after driving on Happy Camp Road up near Page…
Spokane River angler catches officer's attention
FISHING -- Angler Sean Zenishek, left, caught the attention of a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer on the Spokane River today, but it wasn't about the fish. Zenishek landed the 23-inch brown trout while spin-fishing from shore. About the time he was...
Hunters: Don't eat geese tainted by toxic Butte pit mine
HUNTING -- Freeze them, don't eat them, Montana wildlife officials are telling hunters who have killed snow geese in the Butte and Dillon areas recently. The meat of snow geese and possibly of other waterfowl that may have landed in the contaminated water of the…
McMorris Rodgers expected to be Trump’s Interior secretary 5
PUBLIC LANDS -- Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is expected to be named Interior secretary by President-elect Donald Trump, the New York Times reported. McMorris Rodgers, elected to a seventh term last month, has been mentioned as a possible Interior Department secretary after she met with...
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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