ELECTIONS -- Idaho voters have overwhelmingly approved an a measure upgrading hunting, fishing and trapping from traditional privileges to rights protected by an amendment to the state's constitution. Tuesday's vote was about 78 percent in favor of H.J.R. 2aa - The Right to hunt, fish…
RIVERS -- An Idaho conservation group has dropped its lawsuit challenging state approval of a plan to dredge a stretch of the Salmon River for gold, according to the Associated Press. The Idaho Conservation League backed away from its lawsuit last week mainly because the…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Life has been more complicated for this year's brood of trumpeter swans at Turnbull National Wildlife refuge. In the three years since Solo the geriatric trumpter finally found a mate after decades of lonesomeness and revived trumpeter family life at the refuge,…
HUNTING-GATHERING -- While most people head to the supermarket for their Thanksgiving fixings, some sportsmen head to the field. Washington's late-fall wild turkey hunting season opens Nov. 20 in portions of Eastern Washington. November is also prime time to hunt ducks, geese, deer, pheasant, forest…
WINTER SPORTS -- The main lodge at Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park is about a third larger after a $320,000 expansion project complete with a large deck for winter and summer activities. The most significant improvement at the ski area in decades, as Brad…
ENVIRONMENT -- Local experts will discuss "The Clean Water Act at 40" and its implications to the Spokane River in a public panel discussion Wednesday (Nov. 7), 6 p.m. at The Community Buildling, 35 W. Main St. "In October of 1972 Congress signed in to…
FISHING -- Montana sportsmen continue to watch an eight-year court battle that could have serious implcations to fishing access on the state's fabled trout streams. Here's the latest in this story from the Montana Standard.
SKIING -- Greg Stump, the ski film pioneer made his mark in extreme skiing his 1988 classic Blizzard of Aahhh’s, will premier his latest film, Legend of Aahhh’s, Nov. 11 and 12 at the Garland Theater. The film features interviews with Warren Miller, Dick Barrymore,…
TOURNAMENT FISHING -- Nik Autrey of Spokane’s Inland Empire Bass Club won the 15-18 year old division of the 2012 Junior Bassmaster World Championship in the 15-18 year old division on Oct. 27 in Alabama. Autrey, 19, won the one-day event with 10 pounds 3…
TRAILS -- The Spokane River Centennial Trail is closed between miles 7 and 9 through Nov. 24 as workers repair the erosion damage to the trail west of Barker, reports Kaye Turner of the Friends of the Centennial Trail. The detour flows from the Walt…
MOUNTAINEERING -- Jess Roskelley of Spokane teamed with John Frieh of Portland in late October for a three-day "smash and grab" outing to pioneer a new route on Mount Wake in the Alaska Range. Roskelley, the son of Spokane mountaineering veteran and county commissioner candidate,…
HUNTING -- I'm easing back into the swing of civilization after being in a Blue Mountains elk camp for more than a week. Bittersweet. I couldn't tell whether my wife was more excited to see me return Saturday or whether she had her eye on…
HUNTING -- While elk hunting in the Blue Mountains last week, I saw whitetails at elevation 5400 feet -- and I also saw several scrapes. But Montana outdoor photographer Jaime Johnson saw more than that on Thursday. We spent most of yesterday chasing whitetails. We…
FISHING — “We are pretty proud of the store we designed and built all of the store fixtures and displays,” said Jesse Clark in November 2010. He and his son, John Clark, had just opened Westslope Fly Shop in the Riverwalk building at1003 E. Trent,…
FISHING -- Idaho's statewide fish management plan will be considered by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission Nov. 7-9 in Idaho Falls. Agenda items include approval of a 2013-2018 statewide fish management plan and approval of the fishing rules brochure for 2013-2015. Commissioners also will…
HUNTING -- Sportsmen in Idaho and Washington are required to file online or on-phone reports on whether they filled their big game tags. The information is critical to wildlife biologists trying to manage big-game herds. IDAHO requires hunters to file a report on their deer,…
IDAHO WILDLIFE -- A report summarizing comments from some 500 participants in the three-day 2012 Idaho Wildlife Summit is available on the Idaho Fish and Game website. The Summit convened in late August to facilitate conversation among Idaho hunters, anglers, trappers and other wildlife conservationists.…
ENVIRONMENT -- I was in high school when the rivers were catching fire in Cleveland. The Clean Water Act, a series of amendments to a limp 1948 law, was approved by Congress 40 years ago and put into action by the Environmental Protection Agency. It…
CLIMBING -- See mind-boggling vertical rock climbing feats in a FREE presenation of the Reel Rock 7 film tour starting 7 p.m., Nov. 1, at Mountain Gear, 2002 N. Division St.
PUBLIC LANDS -- National parks will be waiving entrance fees to celebrate Veterans Day weekend, Nov. 10-12. The Park Service is waiving fees for a total of 17 days in 2012. The Veterans Day weekend fee waiver is the last scheduled for the year. Offering…
HUNTING -- As sportsmen are bringing deer, elk and moose in from the field for processing, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department offers this clarification on how do deal with your big-game transport tag. Where does my deer/elk tag stay if half my meat is…
HUNTING -- My friend, John, has bagged two bull elk in Idaho this year, owing to skill, luck and investing in resident and nonresident tags. His friends have made a lot of jokes on how much he's hated for showing us up, but of course…
TRAIL MAPPING -- Soon you'll be able to look intimately at a trail on your computer or smartphone before launching out to hike, bike or ride a horse on it. Google has begun applying it's Street View technology to the backcountry. In its first official…
SURVIVAL -- Although you should never depend on a cell phone to be your ticket safety in an outdoor survival situation, it has obvious benefits -- if the battery isn't dead, if it works, if you have coverage, etc. But even if you cell phone…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Trail cams are opening our eyes to rarely seen intimate lives of reclusive animals. There's no better example than the photo above of four cougars in Montana -- likely a mother an her three adult-size offspring. Drew Shearer, a Bitterroot Valley bowhunter,…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
