HUNTING -- I went out chasing pheasants through the countryside this week with a buddy who has a Labrador retriever -- about 100 pounds of brute force. Pheasants, Angus bulls and taut barbed-wire fences all fear this dog. Maybe you can pick him out of…
BIRDING -- Most people visiting Mount Spokane this month are focused on frolicking in the snow, whether it's on skis, snowshoes, inner tubes or snowmobiles. But there's a lot more life in the winter mountain forest than most visitors realize -- unless you head up…
WILDLIFE -- It hasn't been detected yet in the West, but a flesh-eating fungus known as white-nose syndrome is devastating bat populations in the eastern half of the United States. In the past four years, more than one million bats from at least seven species…
FISHING -- Starting Jan. 1, anglers will be allowed to use barbed hooks for fishing for Salmon and steelhead on the Columbia River, from the mouth to McNary Dam. Washington is putting the rule into effect to avoid confusion with Oregon's rule. But let's be…
PADDLING -- The three world-class kayakers were in the middle of Lukuga River in Congo on Dec. 7. The remote stretch was about 100 feet wide, and the two Americans were paddling so close to South African guide Hendri Coetzee their blades would touch if…
NATIONAL PARKS -- An alliance of veteran superintendents from Glacier and Waterton Lakes national parks has written a letter encouraging swift government action on a public lands bill to protect the parks. The joint public letter, signed by six former Glacier superintendents and two former…
NATIONAL FORESTS -- Officials with the Clearwater National Forest are floating a plan to buy a big chunk of private timber land in the upper Lochsa River basin as one way to curry public favor for a land exchange with a private company. The proposed…
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING – Cross-country skiers can test their performance over the course of the season and take a stab at winning cool prizes by entering the three-race Selkirk Nordic Series. First event is Jan. 22 – the 5- or 10-kilometer Cougar Gulch event at Schweitzer.…
RIVERS – Milltown Dam was breached in March 2008, allowing Montana’s Clark Fork River to flow free just above Missoula for the first time in a century. But it wasn’t allowed to run freely in its restored channel until last week. As The Missoulian story…
HUNTING -- I've endured some long days in the field this season with little to show for hours of follownig Scout, my English Setter, through the Palouse. But today, the shortest day of the year, was the best of the season: Scout tallied 18 points…
STATE PARKS -- With the governor's budget proposal leaving now General Fund money for Washington State Parks and Recreation, officials have called a special meeting for Wednesday, 10 a.m., at parks headquarters in Olympia.The agenda includes discussion of the plan to merge parks and rec…
WILDLIFE -- Last week I shared a photo of a wild turkey feeding and gettng along somehow in North Spokane, even though it had been skewered with an arrow by a less-than-worthy archer.Today we get an even grimmer report from Billings, where wildlife photographers have…
WILDLIFE -- Wolves are not bloodless killers, but they can appear to be, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Russ Morgan.Wolf kills can appear perplexing because often they barely have a scratch. The state's wolf program coordinator explained why -- and much…
WILDLIFE -- Safety concerns have prompted North Idaho wildlife officials to urge Bonner County commissioners to pass an ordinance banning the feeding of bears and other wildlife.The Idaho Department of Fish and Game said the county logged 770 nuisance bear complaints from the public this…
WILDLIFE CRIMES -- Two Yakama Nation tribal members have been sentenced to six months in federal prison for killing and selling more than 100 bald and golden eagles.Alfred L. Hawk and William R. Wahsise, both in their 20s, pleaded guilty to taking, selling or transporting…
WILDLIFE -- Priest Lake's resident blogger Pecky Cox used her every-ready camera to capture this whitetail buck against the moon beams reflecting off the water. The photo is posted on her "As the Lake Churns" website.
WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT – While patrolling the Horseshoe Lake area, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department Officer Paul Mosman had one of those rare “game warden moments.”“It started when he pulled in behind a likely looking truck parked at an access gate and just happened to notice…
SKYWATCHING – On the fat chance that the clouds will disappear, the heavens will giving us a reason to stay up late tonight.A lunar eclipse is set to begin about 10:30 p.m., when the Earth¹s shadow begins to pass over the surface of the moon,…
HUNTING -- I just filed the last of my 2010 online hunting reports. If you hunt in Washington or Idaho, the reports are mandatory. It will save you grief to do it before the end of the year. You'll avoid delays and hassles when you…
NATURE -- Saturday's snow storm contributed to the adventure for about 100 kids 8-12 years old on a Sierra Club's Inner City Outings boat cruise to view the annual gathering of bald eagles at Lake Coeur d'Alene."We spotted between 80-100 eagles perched and watched a…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- George Orr, the always quotable Washington Wildlife Commissioner from Spokane, announced today that he will be leaving the commission when his term expires next year.Orr, a retired fireman and former state legislator, made the announcement during a commission conference all meeting called…
POACHING -- A year of patience and a cold stake out paid off for Idaho Fish and Game Department agents this week.Three people found guilty of baiting elk in Idaho’s Boundary County were issued fines totaling $9,600.Following a baiting activity investigation on that started in…
SKIING -- Photos of a skier getting air -- water-skier-style -- behind a horse was the Huckleberrys parting shot for Thursday, and it's a soaring wintery start to the outdoors blog for Friday.Get the scoop -- (does the skier need a clean-up shovel?) -- and…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Bring any kids in the house over to watch this entertaining video of a Canadian TV humorist joining bear biologists as they crawl into a winter den to put a radio collar on an almost hibernating black bear. Hint: They find three…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- BLM biologist Carrie Hugo counted 117 bald eagles in the Wolf Lodge Bay area of Lake Coeur d'Alene during her weekly count on Wednesday. The 117 birds -- 85 adults with white heads and 32 immature birds -- is up from 89…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.