HIKING -- A wildfire in the St. Joe River District is restricting public access to some popular hiking destinations including Snow Peak and the Mallard-Larkins Pioneer area. The Idaho Panhandle National Forests is temporarily closing portions of Forest Service Roads #201 and 363, Trails #13,...
SKY WATCHING -- It may not be in the path of totality, but Schweitzer Mountain Resort above is making a good offer for viewing the total eclipse up on the ridge above Sandpoint, Idaho, on Aug. 21. ."The resort will open the Great Escape Quad...
HUNTING -- A free clinic on the basics of hunting wild turkeys will be presented by a Washington Fish and Wildlife Department wildlife biologist on Sept. 13 limited to the first 20 people who sign up. Joey McCanna, a veteran hunter, will conduct the three-hour...
PARKS – Buses, quotas or traffic jams -- those may be the choices for seeing Yellowstone National Park in the future. Here's the story from the Associated Press: Sometime within the next four to six years, Yellowstone National Park is expected to reach its capacity…
FISHING – An Arizona angler fishing out of Westport has established the sport fish record for the largest blue shark caught in Washington waters, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed. Zachary Jackson, from Show Low, Arizona, caught the 27.63-pound blue shark on…
FISHING – Washington is opening the Snake River to harvest for fall chinook salmon starting Aug. 18-Oct. 31, the Fish and Wildlife Department has announced. Here are details from WDFW: Locations: The Snake River from the mouth (Burbank-to-Pasco railroad bridge at Snake River mile 1.25)…
FISHING -- Sensing a friendly ear in the White House, farming groups are bypassing the issue of whether Snake River dams should be breached in order to take a lethal stab at the jugular -- to hell with the salmon. A group that represents farmers…
HUNTING -- An attractive second shot at a multiple season deer or elk tag is coming up next week, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department officials say. Sportsmen who applied for Washington multiple season hunting permits and were either drawn and did not purchase a permit…
HUNTING -- If your kid is itching to take a shot at hunting, it's time to scout out the opportunities. An impressive list of free hunting clinics organized by certified volunteers with the state Hunter Education Program starts this weekend and runs through September in…
SHOOTING -- Target shooting has been closed on ranges in the Asotin Creek and Wooten wildlife areas of southeastern Washington after fire broke out in extremely dry conditions on Wednesday, state Fish and Wildlife Department officials say. Bob Dice, Blue Mountains Wildlife Area Complex manager…
FISH and WILDLIFE -- The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will be soon be back to full strength with the pending addition of a new member and reappointment of another to fill a recent departure. Andy Walgamott of Northwest Sportsman reports that Donald McIsaac, a...
ADVENTURE -- Allison Roskelley is expanding her range of joy and fulfillment through misery. After becoming one of three paddlers to ride stand-up paddleboards the 112-mile length of the Spokane River, Roskelley reflected on the self-improvement concept. For background, she was already a fitness buff...
FISHING -- California sea lions feeding below Willamette Falls could push the river's winter steelhead to the brink of extinction, Oregon officials said Monday. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife highlighted the threat in a population feasibility study, reports Oregonian/OregonLive. Without federal intervention, they...
PARKS – Glacier National Park reach a milestone in July -- the first time the park has tallied more than 1 million visitors in one month.. Officials in the western Montana park said the July 2017 attendance was up 23 percent from July 2016. The...
FISHING -- Bad news for late-season Alaska salmon anglers from Ketchican to Yakutat: the state Department of Fish and Game announced today that the retention of king salmon is prohibited in all Southeast Alaska salt waters. King salmon may not be retained or possessed, any...
PARKS -- A near-record stretch of temperatures above 90 degrees has cooked the Eastern Washington landscape to tinder dry conditions and land managers are gradually increasing the restrictions to help prevent kicking off another wildfire. The latest announcement is posted today as Lake Roosevelt National…
FISHERIES -- About 150 sockeye salmon are expected to make the epic 900-mile journey from the Pacific Ocean upstream past eight dams to Idaho's Stanley Basin this season, down from 595 last year. The numbers are low but Idaho Fish and Game fisheries managers are...
WILDLIFE – Steps to reduce the spread of elk hoof disease were approved among other actions by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission during its regularly scheduled meeting Friday and Saturday in Olympia. The meeting, which dealt largely with West Side issues, also was the…
THREATENED SPECIES -- After a 60-day review, a 10-year collaborative effort to chart a course for keeping sage grouse off the Endangered Species List is being revised to allow more favorable treatment to industries, says Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The Interior report, the cover letter...
ENDANGERED SPECIES – While animal advocate groups write letters and court the media and public for more "transparency" in managing Washington's recovering wolf population, Native Americans are expanding their options for wolf hunting. Animal groups seem to go frantic every time a wolf is threatened...
SKYWATCHING -- National wildlife refuges are in the “path of totality” for the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse, the first in the United States since 1979. The blackout will last less than three minutes, but by visiting one of 19 wildlife refuge in the path…
HUNTING -- An 890-square-mile federal nuclear facility in eastern Idaho near Idaho Falls has banned hunters from the area on the day of the solar eclipse, the Associated Press reports. The Idaho National Laboratory is directly on the “path of totality” of the Aug. 21...
PUBLIC LANDS -- Will you need a Discover Pass, Northwest Forest Pass or Weyerhaeuser access pass for your next hunting, fishing, hiking, camping or huckleberry picking trip? More than 20 unique recreation passes and permits are available in Washington for accessing recreation lands on a...
PADDLING – Paddling is a good thing for children as it’s applied each year by the Spokane Canoe & Kayak Club. The club’s 56th annual Paddle, Splash & Play, a free kids’ and family event, is set for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5,...
TRAILS -- Driving to the Montana-Idaho border to ride a rail trail over trestles and through cool tunnels appears to be even more popular in hot weather. The Route of the Hiawatha has set a new monthly visitation record with 15,663 riders during July, says...
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.