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...
FIRST AID -- There's nothing like a sweltering week of relentless summer sunshine to prompt a review of heat-caused illnesses. Knowing the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (see graphic above) helps you look after your own health as well as the health of…
PUBLIC LANDS -- Forest Service announcements that commercial huckleberry picking is illegal on Idaho Panhandle National Forests has prompted a flurry of calls to county sheriff's offices regarding violators in North Idaho. But the counties don't have authority to pinch illegal huckleberry operations unless they're...
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- While anti-hunting groups celebrated this week's court ruling that maintains endangered species protections for the thriving wolf population in the Great Lakes, wildlife managers and sportsmen who would like to control wolf numbers may ultimately gain ground from the ruling. Following is...
TRAILS -- Plan on raising a toast and supporting a the North Idaho Centennial Trail at the Ales for the Trail benefit, Aug. 12, with craft brews an music from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at McEuen Park in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Pay $30 for…
STATE PARKS -- Following a brief judicial delay this month, Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park today won a Washington State Supreme Court ruling that will allow its planned expansion to move forward, says Brad McQuarrie, general manager, in a media release just posted. Construction...
WILDLIFE -- A black bear charged a man jogging along Priest Lake on Monday, inflicting minor injuries to his leg before running off, Idaho Fish and Game Department officials say. The incident follows a more serious attack on a woman hiking about with her two...
CLIMBING -- They say lightning never strikes the same place twice -- but tragedy does. A University of Idaho professor from Moscow, Idaho, was killed in a thunder storm while climbing the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps a year after her husband had died from...
SWIMMING -- Here's one way to set a swimming record and beat the heat at the same time: A Montana attorney on Saturday fought through headwinds, high waves and exhaustion to become the first person to swim the length of the West’s largest freshwater lake…
FIRE SEASON -- High temperatures and no rain have rendered the landscape a tinderbox and the inevitable restrictions are coming. The Colville National Forest is the first of others to come to step up fire-prevention restrictions to higher levels, including a complete ban on campfires,...
FISHING -- This week's heat wave may encourage angers to swim with the trout rather than try to fish for them. But before taking a plunge, consider fishing first -- as in first thing in the morning, says Sean Visintainer of Silver Bow Fly Shop...
CAMPING -- If you have an RV or camping van, you may have a ticket to view the solar eclipse from on of hundreds of new temporary camping options. It seems that some landowners are opening their gates to cash in on the "total" craziness.…
WILDLIFE -- The protective status of four wildlife species and proposed steps to reduce elk hoof disease in Western Washington are on the agenda for the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting Friday and Saturday, Aug. 4-5, in Olympia. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife...
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- A second wolf has been removed from the Smackout Pack in the ongoing effort to reduce numbers until the pack no longer is killing livestock in Washington's Stevens County. The order to lethally remove some of the wolves was issued July 20…
WILDLIFE -- As announced in June, the U.S. government lifted protections for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region today, though it will be up to the courts to decide whether the revered and feared icon of the West stays off the threatened species list. The…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.