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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

TUESDAY, NOV. 30, 2010

Moose highlight Iller Creek hike 

WILDLIFE -- Early Sunday morning, Ken Mondal of Spokane took advantage of the fresh powder and for a snowshoe hikeup the East Ridge of Iller Creek to Big Rocks, an excellent public natural area west of the Dishman-Mica Road.Coming around a switchback on the new…

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MONDAY, NOV. 29, 2010

A whitetail buck fell dead in the background after battling a concrete lawn ornament in Wisconsin. (La Crosse Tribune)

Buck loses head-butt battle with lawn ornament

WILDLIFE -- Wisconsin whitetails apparently are willing to challenge any bull elk that come wandering into their turf during the rut.In an early November battle, a whitetail buck fought to the death with a 640-pound concrete elk lawn ornament. Both critters suffered serious damage.The La…

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Have we lost our sense of smelt?

FISHING -- Washington and Oregon on Tuesday closed the final remnants of commercial smelt season in the Columbia River, ending a century-long fishery that once tallied its harvest in the millions of pounds, according to Al Thomas of the Vancouver Columbian.The National Marine Fisheries Service…

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SUNDAY, NOV. 28, 2010

This anonymously received e-mail photo features three white-tailed deer during breeding season. (Anonymous)

Rutting deer not for prudish blog viewers 

WILDLIFE -- I'm posting this anonymously received photo showing a ménage à trois of white-tailed deer purely in the interest of natural science.Perhaps it demonstrates the natural intensity of the rut, or it's just two bucks with an unnatural tendency to make love rather than…

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Ski season starts with a POW 

SKIING -- "Wasted" is the most common term I'm hearing from downhill skiers as they wind down their holiday weekend begining to the 2010-2011 ski season.The powder was knee deep and light as instant mashed potatoes before adding water at most resort in the region.…

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SATURDAY, NOV. 27, 2010

THURSDAY, NOV. 25, 2010

Westslope Fly Shop opened Nov. 20, 2010, in at Riverwalk, 1003 E. Trent Ave. (Westslope Fly Shop)

Spokane has new fly fishing shop

FISHING -- Jesse Clark and his son, John Clark, just opened a new fly fishing shop in the Riverwalk building at1003 E. Trent. Westslope Fly Shop is located next to Northern Lights Brewery."We are pretty proud of the store we designed and built all of…

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A pair of common loons produced one chick in their first nesting effort at Long Lake in 2009. The female loon was back on a nest in May 2010 before Fish and Wildlife Department officials reported that she had been shot around May 9. Photo by Daniel Poleschook Jr. (Photo by Daniel Poleschook Jr.)

Lead tackle restrictions to be considered 

FISHING – Restrictions on use of lead fishing tackle at 13 lakes with nesting loons will be considered by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission when it meets Dec. 2-4 in Olympia.The lead issue is on the agenda for Dec. 4.Studies have shown that loons…

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New route groomed for nordic skiers at Mount Spokane

NORDIC SKIING -- The snowmobiler's loss has been a gain for cross-country skiers at Mount Spokane.Earlier this month, Inland Empire Paper Co. announced it was banning snowmobilers from its 116,000 acres in northeastern Washington and North Idaho, including the previously groomed snowmobile routes starting from…

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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 24, 2010

Bald eagles are gathering at Lake Coeur d'Alene to feast on spawning kokanee

Bald eagles gathering at Lake CdA

WILDLIFE WATCHING -- The annual gathering of bald eagles in the Wolf Lodge Bay area of Lake Coeur d'Alene is underway. S-R staffers saw four at Higgens Point as they drove by on I-90 today. Dozens more probably went unnoticed. The numbers will build, usually…

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Nordic ski areas are opening groomed trails around the Inland Northwest. (Rich Landers)

Skiers making tracks at nordic areas

NORDIC SKIING -- Cross-country skiers aren’t being left out in the cold as early snowfall covers trails and allows downhill ski resorts to open. Here’s the latest report:Mount Spokane: The temperature was minus 10 degrees this morning when the state park rangers show up at…

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Angler shares salmon with orca

FISHING -- When a pod of killer whales zeroes in on the same school of fish as the British Columbia sportfishing fleet, it's a head-to-head competition to see who's the best fisherman.This video has been going around for a while, but it's cool to watch.…

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TUESDAY, NOV. 23, 2010

Schweitzer Mountain's crew was making snow anglers this week as they prepared the slopes to open on Friday.

Skiing update: Some areas open Thursday

SKIING -- As ski areas scramble to respond to the sudden onslaught of winter and more than a foot of fresh powder, some are revising their previously annouced schedules.49 Degrees North and Lookout Pass will reopen on Thursday.Mt. Spokane and Silver Mountain will open Friday.Schweitzer…

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Steelhead still active in Idaho

FISHING -- Anglers are still finding good steelhead action on portions of the Snake, Salmon and Clearwater rivers, especially farther upstream.See the latest steelhead fishing report, just released by Idaho Fish and Game.

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Habitat destruction, compounded by the recent energy boom in Wyoming, have put more pressure on sage grouse and their struggle to keep their home on the range. (Wyoming Game and Fish)

Sage grouse habitat map released

WILDLIFE -- A breeding bird density map for the greater sage-grouse released today by the Department of Interior could be a step in controling development to help keep the prairie bird off the Endangered Species list.The map identifies important areas having high density occurrences of…

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Fire starter for the future?

OUTDOOR NEWS -- Linsey, a student from Eastern Washington University, has been job-shadowing me today, and she's been asking a lot of good questions about the Outdoors beat and about newspapers in general."Will there be newspapers around in 10 years?" she asked as we were…

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Sea Kayak Adventures based in Coeur d'Alene offers toasty warm winter paddling vacations in the Sea of Cortez.   (Sea Kayak Adventures)

Follow Black Friday with Adventure Tuesday

OUTBOUND – Two Coeur d’Alene-based outdoor adventure companies are the ticket for people prompted by this week’s snow and cold to start planning an active getaway -- to someplace warm.Read on to check out the latest from Sea Kayak Adventures and ROW Adventures:

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MONDAY, NOV. 22, 2010

Paddlers float program for cancer kids

PADDLING -- If you're looking for inspiration tonight, check out the free First Descents program at the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club meeting."The River Ward" is a documentary that chronicles the experiences of four individuals as they attend a First Descents week-long kayak camp for…

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Snow deluge at Fernie

SKIING -- Inundated with more than 41 inches of snow in the past seven days, Fernie Alpine Resort in British Columbia plans to open this weekend for skiing and snowboarding. An estimated 44 runs will be open and four chairlifts.

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Get permit to cut Christmas tree

NATIONAL FORESTS -- Ho, ho, ho! It’s time for many to honor the family tradition of heading to a national forest to cut a Christmas tree.First stop should be to a U.S. Forest Service office to get a $5 permit. Families can purchase up to…

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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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