RIVERS -- Members of the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club, pictured above unloading their boats at the popular Spokane River Centennial Trail access at Mission and Flora on Sunday, are working to assure that the access won't be gobbled up by development plans. The access…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- With lakes losing their ice caps and rain saturating the region's wetlands, this is prime time to view the waterfowl migration throughout the region. Reports are coming in of big congregations of tundra swans, ducks as well as sandhill cranes and other…
FLY FISHING -- Oregon fishing guide and fly-fishing innovator Tom Larimer will present a free steelhead fly fishing tactics clinic starting at 6 p.m. on April 8 at Silver Bow Fly Shop in Spokane Valley. (Please notify the shop if you will attend so they…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- A hawk-eyed reader recently noticed that the poles that had supported urban osprey nests not far from the Valley Costco store were missing -- and so were the osprey. She contacted me, and I contacted the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department. Habitat…
FLY FISHING -- Here's the weekly Yakima River Fishing Report from Jim Gallagher of Troutwater Fly Shops in Cle Elum and Ellensburg: The skwala stones continued to be the most dominate insect on the Yakima River this past week. We have also seen blue wing…
HUNTING -- Relatively speaking, the odds were excellent for drawing Washington's coveted 2011 moose raffle tag. Lloyd Hoppner of Colville won the coveted tag to hunt a prolonged season anywhere moose hunting is allowed in Eastern Washington in the drawing held last weekend at the…
WILDLIFE -- Stevens county elected officials are constantly belittling state and federal wildlife managers for their lack of effort in controlling the wildlife devastation caused by wolves and coyotes, however valid that might be. But when it comes to taking care of the canines under…
WINTER SPORTS -- A clash has been brewing for years near Lookout Pass as snowmobilers' insatiable appetite for high-marking and tracking fresh snow continues to invade more and more areas used by backcountry skiers. Thirty years ago, snowmobilers tended to stay north of I-90 while…
YOUTH OUTDOORS -- Peak 7 Adventures, a faith-based youth outdoor adventure group with a focus on underprivileged kids is already launching raft groups on the Spokane River, taking advantage of the spring whitewater. The group schedules challenging events throughout spring and summer, including climbing, kayaking,…
WILDLIFE -- Washington Fish and Wildlife officers responded to a Newman Lake residence today after reading my blog item about a deer with a Halloween bucket stuck on its face. The whitetail and her two fawns had come into the family's barnyard three nights in…
PUBLIC LANDS -- The Resource Advisory Council (RAC) for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Coeur d’Alene District will meet in Coeur d’Alene Tuesday at the District Office, 3815 Schreiber Way. In addition to the RAC's regular business items, the agenda includes election of officers,…
BIG GAME -- The Idaho Senate has passed legislation to relax domestic elk testing requirements for a deadly brain disease that has plagued herds in other states, the Associated Press just reported. All domestic elk in Idaho must be tested annually for chronic wasting disease.…
WILDLIFE COPS -- In addition to clamping down on people who disregard wildlife habitat (see previous post) Washington Fish and Wildlife police kept busy last week with a wide range of duties, not the least of which was conducting a hot-spot elk hunt to curb…
OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY – An internationally known professional photographer and lecturer from Issaquah will conduct the annual Photographic Society of America Spring Seminar in Spokane, April 2-3, hosted by local camera clubs. Darrell Gulin will be at Spokane Community College Lair Building focusing on a wide…
WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT – If a tree falls in the forest and a Fish and Wildlife policeman is around, it will be heard – and investigated. While patrolling the Tucannon Lakes and Wooten Wildlife Area in the Blue Mountains last week, a Washington Fish and Wildlife…
FISHING -- As I was hiking the rim above Hog Canyon Lake on Sunday, I looked down on the water to see two fishermen looking very small as they trolled their lures in the chop. A few anglers were fishing with little success from shore…
HIKING -- Reports from paddling friends say Hangman Creek had dropped too low for good canoeing over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Palouse River was flowing too big for safe paddling. Time to put on the hiking shoes and just stand in awe of the sight…
HIKING -- Looking for a good early-spring dayhike? Check out this spot i visited with my daughter this weekend. Runoff period is a good time to visit the BLM land around Fishtrap Lake for a hike into Hog Canyon Lake. . Hog Canyon is a…
OUTDOOR CANINES – Hikers, hunters or anyone who takes a dog along for the adventure can benefit from a free program on preparing and caring for dogs in the outdoors Thursday, 7 p.m., at Spokane’s REI store. Veterinarian Greg Benoit of SouthCare Animal Hospital will…
OUTDOORS -- You can't just cruise through the sprawling Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show, which ends this afternoon at the Spokane Fair and Expo Center. The best part of the show is in the details. It's a place to talk and learn from knowledgeable people…
HUNTING -- The Washington 2011 raffle moose tag will be drawn Sunday afternoon at the Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show that's underway at the Spokane Fair and Expo Center. The more $10 raffle tickets you buy, the better the odds for drawing a coveted chance…
HUNTING -- Hunters education classes can use any gun powder that might be sitting unneeded in shops or basements of the region's hunters and reloaders. "We do a powder burning demonstration for our classes to demonstrate the different burn rates for rifle, shotgun, pistol and…
HUNTING -- This year's hunter education classes offered by the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council were filling fast at the sign-up table at the Big Horn Outdoor Recreation Show on Saturday. Classes in May were full by Saturday morning and April probably filled before the day…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Paul Bannick, wildlife photographer and author of The Owl and the Woodpecker: Encounters with North America's Most Iconic Birds, is coming to The Bing Tuesday for a program that begins at 7 p.m. The last time Bannick was in Spokane, his program…
WILDLIFE -- A leftover trick from Halloween is no treat for a whitetail deer near Newman Lake, where it's been lured by human food sources to the danger of human garbage. The deer has a kids' Halloween bucket stuck on its face and the strap…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
