BIRDING -- Consider it a perfect gift to yourself or someone else who’ll enjoy daily reminders of the feathered friends found in the region. The Spokane Audubon Society's Birds of Eastern Washington 2012 calendar features local birds photographed by the group's members Cost: $12 if…
PREDATORS -- Idaho Fish and Game Department plans to use helicopter gunners and government trappers to kill wolves roaming the Lolo Zone, a remote, rugged area in the north-central part of the state once populated by some of Idaho's biggest elk herds. Trapping efforts will…
BIRDING -- Snowy owls migrating from the arctic to northern states stand out in a crowd, or even on a rural fencepost. Numerous sightings are causing a stir about whether this is a boom year for the white-feathered visitors. Read on for some perspective and…
FISHING -- Winds blasting through the Columbia River Gorge in November damaged several of the tribal netting scaffolds built along the shore at Drano Lake, a popular sport-fishing spot, reports the Vancouver Columbian Among the platforms damaged partially is one of two built this spring…
HUNTING -- Oregon is the first state in the nation to integrate hunter education registration with license sales, according to a report by outdoor blogger Bill Monroe for Oregon Live. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has cleared the path to end the last-minute…
FISHING -- Harold Van Riper, a former Gonzaga University basketball star who moved to the Olympic Peninsula to found a popular salmon fishing resort, passed away recently. He was 80. The former owner of Van Riper's Resort at Sekiu in the western Strait of Juan…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- Jay Kehe, 57, of Omak has been appointed to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission as one of the three required East Side representatives on the nine-member panel. Kehne is a conservationist, sheep farmer and hunter. Along with a 30 year career…
BIRDWATCHING – The season’s third survey of bald eagles congregating at Lake Coeur d’Alene found another big jump in numbers from the previous week. Today's survey found 112 adults (white heads) and 24 immature eagles (under 4 years old with dark heads) for a total…
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- After four years of development, public review and controversy, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission Saturday unanimously adopted a plan that will guide state conservation and management of gray wolves in the state. The citizen commission approved the Gray Wolf Conservation and…
SKY WATCHING -- Andy Buddngton of the Spokane Community College Science Department recommends that we get an early, glowing start tomorrow. Shortly after 4:30 Saturday morning, we'll be treated to a “red” lunar eclipse. As the NASA science video explains, this is the last one…
HUNTING -- Did you hear the rumor about the Muckleshoot tribal members who went into the mountains west of Yakima and killed something like 400 elk before the hunting season? Scott Sandsberry, outdoor writer for the Yakima Herald-Republic, heard the story several times before digging…
PUBLIC LANDS -- Marijuana cultivation sites in 20 states on 67 national forests have caused "severe" damage according to U.S. Forest Service director of law enforcement, David Ferrell. "The illegal cultivation of marijuana on our National Forest System is a clear and present danger to…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead has budgeted more than $800,000 to manage wolves in the state during the next two years. That's less than half of what Idaho and Montana are spending with federal support that's likely to evaporate in the next couple…
High Sierra Safety (a full length film) from 7 Finger media on Vimeo. PADDLING -- This nifty video is a nicely filmed, beautifully thought out how-to story about kayakers hiking into one world's most famous Class 5 overnighters. The group is up for running Upper…
STATE PARKS -- Riverside and Mount Spokane likely will be combined and full-time employees reduced by about 40 percent as Washington State Parks officials scramble to slash the agency’s budget. A shortfall from lagging Discover Pass sales has left state parks strapped for cash after…
WINTER SPORTS -- Community Cancer Services of Sandpoint and Schweitzer Mountain Resort will team to offer $10 lift tickets Friday as a fundraiser, with 100% of ticket proceeds to be donated to local cancer care, resort officials announced today. Schweitzer plans to have all 2,900…
FISHING -- Here's the latest fishing report from Lake Rufus Woods on the Columbia River downstream from Grande Coulee Dam. It comes from Anton Jones (above with a 9-pound triploid rainbow) of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service. This is a great time to fish…
STATE PARKS -- The Washington Parks and Recreation Commisison released a statement to the media Wednesday afternoon regarding its plans to reduce expenses by about $11 million. About 160 jobs are at risk among the agency's 516 full-time employees. Read on for the full statement.
BOWHUNTING -- Idaho archers have about two weeks to shop for a whitetail buck before Christmas. Rutting activity lingers in the West as Idaho Panhandle bowhunters take their last shot in a season that opens Saturday in selected units and runs through Dec. 24. They're…
WATERFOWL HUNTING -- Mikal Moore, state waterfowl biologist, compiled data Wednesday from the season’s first aerial waterfowl surveys over the Columbia River Basin on Monday and Tuesday. Bottomline: Northerns are here. “There a lot of new birds in the area, probably recently arrived, that seem…
WATERFOWL HUNTING -- After mechanical “Robo Duck” decoys were invented in the late 90s, Washington waterfowl hunters enjoyed a few seasons to sample their effectiveness. Many hunters liked what they saw as the wings caused movement in the air and water to lure waterfowl from…
KAYAKING -- A trio of kayakers raised the eyebrows of local officials recently by paddling over 90-foot Noccalula Falls in Etowah County, Alabama. See the story. The paddlers risked big fines and a tongue lashing by doing the stunt for a video -- "Watershed: Land…
BOWHUNTING -- A proposal to allow lighted nocks to be used on arrows for bowhunting seasons in Washington got a big vote of confidence for bowhunters in an email survey conducted last month by the Fish and Wildlife Department. The survey results were released to…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- Larry Carpenter, a Mount Vernon boat dealer and long-time sportfishing enthusiast, and Jay Kehne, an Omak conservationist, sheep farmer and hunter, have been appointed to vacant positions on the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. The commission is a nine-member panel that makes…
BIRDWATCHING -- The weekly fall/winter survey of bald eagles congregating at Lake Coeur d'Alene has been cancelled this week as BLM staffers are in training meetings. But the birds are there by the dozens, as you learned last week in this blog post followed by…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
