SALMON FISHING -- The boom of sockeye this year has prompted the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department to hold a sockeye fishings season on Lake Wenatchee starting Saturday. Read on for the details from WDFW.
WILDLIFE -- After a letter to the editor on Sunday made claims about gray wolves that don't seem to be substantiated published wildlife science, I asked for a reaction from several wolf experts. Some of that information appears today in my weekly Outdoors column. Washington…
NATIVE PLANTS -- The huckleberry bush, the most revered shrub in the Inland Northwest, is getting less respect as berry pickers succumb to greed. Practices are getting so bad, the Forest Service has issued a media release warning that recently observed practices -- such as…
WATER SPORTS – Two events that promote paddling sports are scheduled this month along the Spokane River. Spokane River Festival for paddlers, Saturday starting at 11 a.m., is being organized by local kayak and rafting groups Saturday at Glover Field in Peaceful Valley. The event,…
RIVERS -- A tragic season on the region's rivers seems to have no end. See this sobering video report about floats -- in their 70s no less -- who dropped their guard, misjudged the power of the Kettle River last week, and went over the…
UPDATED FISHING -- Here's what some of the region's media are saying this week about salmon fishing in Washington: Westport salmon fishing opens to 7 days a week Buoy 10 fishery expected to be a hit for salmon anglers Calling all anglers: August rich with…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- Idaho Fish and Game officials have scheduled an Aug. 24-26 conference – with regional and online participation – to get sportsmen and other state citizens to help tackle major challenges facing wildlife management. The Idaho Wildlife Summit, set in Boise, also will…
NATIONAL FORESTS -- State and national forests are beginning to enact fire restrictions as the heat wave dries out the woods. Washington's Department of Natural Resouces already has issued restrictions for state lands. Beginning today, restrictions are being enacted on the Umatilla National Forest of…
FISHING -- A week after an unrelenting heat wave forced Montana to put restrictions on three rivers, Yellowstone Park officials have announced they're closing fishing on portions of three rivers because of unusually warm water temperatures. Starting Wednesday, park officials will prohibit fishing on the…
PADDLEBOARDING -- Feeling like you pushed your limits last weekend during a weekend warrior outdoor pursuit? How about this? Connor Baxter, 17, raises his paddle in the photo above after finishing first in the Molokai-2-Oahu Paddleboard World Championship in Honolulu on Sunday. The 17-year-old from…
FISHING CONTESTS -- Sign-up is underway for the season’s second Pikepalooza fishing derby on the Pend Oreille River, Friday through next Sunday, sponsored by the Kalispel Tribe. Prizes up to $1,000 are being offered in a variety of categories to make the contest interesting to…
CAMPING -- The best part of this camping trip? Nobody was killed. A Cheney family survived a harrowing evening during the storm that ravaged Ferry County on July 20, 2012. See their photos above. See a story about the storm and brief surge of hurricane-force…
NATIONAL FORESTS -- A week after a storm and brief surge of hurricane-force winds swept through the region, areas around Priest Lake and especially the Colville National Forest are still clogged with downed trees. The good news is that powerline crews, government agencies and private…
FISHING -- Specific types of fish from the Upper Columbia and Pend Oreille rivers contain toxic chemicals according to analysis of two recent studies that's prompted a new fish consumption advisory this week from the Washington Department of Health. Interestingly, the Washington Department of Fish…
FISH HABITAT -- Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on a proposal to install a series of log jams consisting of native green and aged woody debris along a portion of lower Fish Creek in Mineral County. Fish Creek, which begins at…
FIRE LOOKOUTS - Volunteers are refurbishing a national forest lookout ravaged by age, weather and vandalism on Spyglass Peak in the upper reaches of the North Fork Coeur d'Alene River. The Idaho Panhandle National Forests have partnered with Lutherhaven Ministries and the Forest Fire Lookout…
WHITEWATER RAFTING -- Local rafter Tanner Grant has put together another in a series of videos that chronicles a rafter's view of a popular river, labeling all the rapids. This time it's the Alberton Gorge of Montana's Clark Fork River, a popular summer rafting destination…
OUTDOORS -- There's plenty of firewood for keeping warm in northeastern Washington this week, but many People are hurting for other necessities. With hundreds of families still without power after last Friday's wind storm wreaked havoc in the region, officials in Ferry County are trying…
FISHING -- While rivers in the Spokane-to-Missoula region are still flowing somewhat higher that normal and reasonably cool, waters -- and fish -- farther east are feeling the heat of a drought. Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks today advised anglers on three central Montana rivers…
RIVERS -- At the risk of sounding like a liberal, greenie, environmental wacko, I must say I'm disgusted by the number of beer cans and even bottles the summer river tubers and rafters deposit in the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River on a…
RIVER SAFETY -- The number of drownings in the region's rivers this year has prompted a local campaign to get people thinking about reasonable safety practices. Most of the victims would be alive today had they been wearing life jackets. Perhaps the most incredible drowning…
WILDLIFE -- A man spotted dressed in a white goat suit crawling around among a herd of mountain goats in the mountains of northern Utah has been identified as a hunter preparing for an archery hunt in Canada. Read the AP story here. They guy…
INVASIVE WILDLIFE -- S-R Boise reporter Betsy Russell smelled the bacon for today's front page story on the tri-state campaign to keep feral pigs from the wilds of Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The gist of the story is that feral pigs are tremendously destructive to…
SALMON FISHING -- Crowds of anglers are postponing their Alasaka dream trip because there's no reason to leave Washington. The record run of sockeye salmon booming up the Columbia is attracting large numbers of people to the upper reaches of the river near Brewster, as…
HUNTING/FISHING -- The Idaho Fish and Game Commission recently adopted a series of “nonbiological” rules that would take effect only if the upcoming Legislature approves them. Among the proposals: Allow commission to adjust resident and nonresident elk tag allocations in capped zones in which resident…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
