CONSERVATION -- I hear grumbling about state and federal agencies being proactive by buying or blocking up lowland wild areas. But listen up. Far-sighted groups such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Inland Northwest Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy are joining the…
HUNTING -- A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife plan to turn a prized December elk hunt for Master Hunters into a permit hunt is ruffling the feathers of sportsmen who had a lock on the land used by elk coming off Turnbull National Wildlife…
WINTER SPORTS -- Lift ticket prices on Friday at Silver Mountain Resort will be the same as they were in the beginning. In 1968, the original Jackass Ski Bowl on Wardner Peak opened to the public with a single Riblet chair lift at the end…
NATIONAL PARKS -- The U.S. Postal Service is featuring an image of Logan Pass in Glacier National Park on an international rate postage stamp to be issued starting Jan. 19. The stamp was designed by art director Ethel Kessler, based on an image taken by…
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- Rep. Dod Hastings, R-WA, says he's ready to rewrite the Endangered Species Act, according to this McClatchy report.
PREDATORS -- A third sportsmen's organization has stepped up with incentives that encourage hunters to bag a wolf to help give relief to struggling elk herds before Montana's wolf hunting season ends in February, according to a story in the Ravalli Republic. So far, the…
WILDLIFE -- Gov. Butch Otter cried wolf by declaring the predators a "disaster emergency" in Idaho last year, according to The Wildlife Society, the international organization of wildlife professionals. The group's newsletter editors ranked that story No. 1 in their list of Top 10 Wildlife…
WILDLIFE -- The annual year-end survey of the Washington’s five confirmed wolf packs has documented three successful breeding pairs and a total of at least 27 wolves, the state Fish and Wildlife Department says in a media release posted today. Click here for details on…
WINTER SPORTS -- All of the region's ski resorts would like to have more snow. But at least the ones in the Inland Northwest have coverage. At southern Idaho's Bogus Basin, the situation is grim, as you see in this report that just moved on…
FISHING -- Ice fishing is still good in areas of the Idaho Panhandle, "but you have to be a bit more careful to keep from going swimming, especially around the shoreline," said Jim Hayden of Idaho Fish and Game. The warming trend has made ice…
We thought that first big snowstorm just before Thanksgiving was the beginning of the predicted big snow accumulation associated with an El Ninia year. However, to date, Idaho has accumulated only 73 percent of normal snowpack. Check out this SnoTel chart to see where the…
CONSERVATION -- Opinions among wildlife conservationists regarding legislation that could allow more motor vehicle use in federal roadless areas. Which side do you take? Hunting, fishing groups join environmentalists to fight federal legislation Members of Trout Unlimited, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the Sportsmen…
WINTER SPORTS -- The recent snow fall was just what the Chelan Ranger District needed to officially open the Echo Ridge Ski Area for cross country skiing and snow shoeing. All but one of the area's trails are packed and tracked, giving skiers and snowshoers…
WILDLIFE -- Many of the wolves in northeastern Washington moved in naturally from Idaho. But the Gem State is a dangerous place for the wolves to return. A radio-collared wolf from the Diamond Pack in east-central Pend Oreille County was killed Dec. 20 by a…
CONSERVATION -- On the south face of the Cabinet Mountains overlooking Lake Pend Oreille, 921 acres of elk and moose wintering range have been permanently secured for wildlife habitat and public access in a land-exchange signed Dec. 22. The swap between Stimson Lumber Co. and…
NATIONAL FORESTS -- Ten years in the making, a draft forest plan and environmental impact statement were released today by the Idaho Panhandle National Forests for 90 days of public comment. Forest officials say the proposed plan covering a wide range of issues from fire…
RIVER RUNNING -- Applications for permits to float Montana's popular Smith River this spring and summer are available starting today. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will accept applications for permits to float the Smith River State Park and River Corridor through Feb. 15, and Smith…
FISHING -- Bait fishing for triploid rainbow trout has been hot at Lake Rufus Woods, especially near the lower net pens, says Anton Jones of Darrell and Dad's Family Guide Service. New flavors of Pautzke baits work, he said. "Mallow Balls O’ Fire, American Wildfire,…
WILDLIFE -- While some photographs snapped in the region marked wildlfie milestones in 2011, some were simply one of a kind. Click "Continue reading" at the bottom of this post to see a sampling of photos to get a sense for what I mean. Click…
CLIMBING -- The extraordinary skill of big-wall rock climber Alex Honnold, 26, was put to the mainstream in 2011 by a CBS filming crew willing to go out of their comfort zone. Honnold, 26, said he is at peace thousands of feet off the ground,…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- The last round of public comment on proposed 2012 fishing rules will be taken at the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting Jan. 6-7 in Olympia. The commission also will consider increasing the number of multiple-season hunting permits available Multiple-season hunting permits…
SKYWATCHING -- The peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower peaks tonight around 11 a.m. or midnight into early Wednesday, with an estimated 40 to 100 meteors per hour. The best viewing may come a few hours later when the moon sets, according to a story…
BIRD HUNTING -- The fog was packed into the Snake River valley today. Steelheaders were scattered up and down the river. But Scout, my English setter, led up up above it all and nearly to the rim to find this first covey of chukars. A…
NORDIC SKIING -- Time to brag: My visits to trout streams have ended weeks of good fishing; showing up at a campsites brought in hail storms. But my Friday effort to ski with family 6 miles into the wood-heated Rendezvous Hut for a three-day overnight…
PUBLIC LANDS -- The Interior Department has announced dates in 2013, ranging from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day to Veterans Day, when more than 2,000 national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges and other federal lands will offer free admission. The fee waiver does…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
