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…
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 -- 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 -- 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…
HUNTING -- I was pretty confident going into today's hunt. I had a shotgun and an English setter that covers real estate like the wind.But the valley quail didn't fly.Instead, they challenged us to a footrace through the Lincoln County sagebrush.The birds won, by a…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- A scenic boat cruise is one of the more enjoyable ways to view the annual winter bald eagle gathering at Lake Coeur d'Alene's Wolf Lodge Bay.Here are a few options;Dec. 26-Jan. 2: Coeur d'Alene Resort 2-hour cruises start at 1 p.m. Cost:…
NORDIC SKIING -- Etta, the owl beautifully carved out of cedar, has been stolen from its perch overlooking the the Hoot Owl nordic ski trail at 49 Degrees North."Please put out the word," said Keith Wakefield, who helped design and create the ski area's nordic…
TRAILS -- A $100,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation will help put railings and other safety features on a 770-foot trestle -- one of the jewels in the rough of the rail trail that runs 33 miles from Republic to the Canada…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- The buzz is growing over Gov. Chris Gregoire's budget-cutting proposals that would, among other things, merge the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department to into a new mega agency and reduce the Fish and Wildlife Commission to an advisory role or eliminate it…
WILD FOWL -- In a testament to the species' hardiness, reports of white wild turkeys among the region's big wintering flocks are fairly common.First, one must marvel that there are big wintering flocks after two bad winters in the past three years followed by this…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is on the chopping block in Gov. Chris Gregoire’s Tuesday proposal announced to consolidate state agencies and eliminate boards and commissions to save nearly $30 million.Among other mergers, a new Department of Conservation and Recreation would…
WILDLIFE -- Hunting from a tree stand puts a hunter's scent above the ground, where critters often come and go without a clue that a human is present.Sometimes the critters don't come and go, through. Sometimes they just keep coming.Check out this video of a…
GUNS -- A Columbia Falls High School student who inadvertently brought an unloaded rifle to school in the trunk of her car will not be expelled, the Associated Press reports.The school board made its unanimous decision Monday night, and the 16-year-old honor student and varsity…
