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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011


Several dozen great blue herons were perched on pilings in the Pend
Oreille River at Usk, Washington Tuesday, March 2, 2010. Area birding
enthusiasts said this is the time of year large groups of the giant
birds can be seen migrating and resting in certain areas, such as the
Pack River Delta along Lake Pend Oreille. Soon they will disperse in
smaller groups to nesting rookeries in cottonwoods or other woodlands
near water. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)

Prime time for seeing tundra swans

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…

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TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2011

Yakima River fly fishing report

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…

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Dogs killing deer is not a new problem in the Inland Northwest. Packs of two or more dogs roaming freely can take advantage of deer in deep snow or crusty snow that makes running difficult for hooved animals. Even house pets can revert to deadly predatory instincts when allowed to roam around deer that struggle to survive during winter. This deer was dragged down in a harrowing few minutes as at least three dogs bit chunks of flesh from its body before it finally succumbed. The 2004 incident prompted a story in The Spokesman-Review following a tip from a resident. (Rich Landers)

Deer dogged in Stevens County  

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…

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MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011

A whitetail deer near Liberty Lake has a plastic Halloween pumpkin stuck on its face. (Dianna Sellers)

Deer with bucket on face has disappeared

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…

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BLM advisory council meets in CdA

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,…

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Wild turkeys are numerous in and out of towns around Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, and sometimes they're nuisances, too. (Troy Maben)

Another busy week for Wildlife cops

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…

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Giraffes by photographer Darell Gulin. (Darell Gulin)

Sign up for outdoor photography seminar

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…

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Palouse Falls was flowing big and muddy on March 19, 2011, as seen in this photo by Penny Lapsley. (Penny Lapsley)

Great weekend for waterfalls

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…

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Veterinarian offers free dog first-aid class

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…

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SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2011



Gun powder needed for hunter education

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…

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Hunter ed classes filling at Big Horn Show

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…

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SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011

Outdoors blog

Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.




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