Field Reports

WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT

BlueRibbon leader cited

The director of the BlueRibbon Coalition has been placed on indefinite administrative leave after being cited last month for outfitting without a license in the Sawtooth National Forest.

Bill Dart was placed on leave without pay pending resolution of the charge against him, said Clark Collins, former director of the off-road vehicle group who is serving as acting director in the interim.

“We’re taking this very seriously,” Collins said on Monday from the organization’s headquarters in Pocatello. “Right now, it’s a board matter.”

Forest Service spokesman Ed Waldapfel said Dart was cited by enforcement agent Breck Young on Aug. 20 for providing backcountry motorcycle tours for a price to an unknown number of clients.

Waldapfel said the fine is $250 and could be paid by mail or contested in court. There was no indication on Monday whether Dart would contest the citation.

Jake Howard, director of the state Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board said that if the Forest Service $250 citation stands up the board would likely prosecute Dart for illegal outfitting.

Associated Press

NATIONAL FORESTS

Colville travel explored

The Colville National Forest, in coordination with the Spokane Mountaineers, will hold another in a series of public meetings regarding Recreation travel planning on Wednesday, 6 p.m., at REI, 1125 N. Monroe Street in Spokane.

Forest officials have been meeting with citizens to address forest-wide issues on recreation management, including volunteer opportunities, recreational road access and trail management.

At this meeting, participants will be asked to comment on three items previous groups already have identified as important to recreation travel on the forest, said Debbie Wilkins, agency spokeswoman. Those actions include creating a volunteer coordinator for the forest; organizing work parties of multiple user groups and improving signage, especially at trailheads and intersections.

The agenda also calls for examining possible new routes for off-highway vehicle travel.

For information, contact Wilkins at the Newport Ranger District, (509) 447-7322.

•On a related program, officials have extended the period for public comment on an analysis of 370 miles primary roads within the Colville National Forest.

Maps and information is available on the Web at www.fs.fed.us/r6/colville. Comments are due by Sept. 24.

Rich Landers

WILDLIFE

A bump in the night

Delivering The Spokesman-Review can be a blood-curdling experience, and we’re not talking about seeing old pot-bellied men reaching out the screen door wearing their boxer shorts and slippers.

Paper carrier Don Bradeen was on his route heading north from Creston toward Lake Roosevelt at 4 a.m. last week when a deer bolted across the road in front of his rig.

“I slammed on my brakes and my stack of papers fell over, so I stopped and reached over to straighten them up,” he said.

Sensing something awry, Bradeen looked up just as a cougar slammed into his driver-side window.

“She must have seen me in there and figured I was slower than the deer,” he said. “She attacked and would have lambasted me except for one thing — the window was rolled up.

“She hit the window with her teeth and claws bared. I could tell it was a nursing female, I mean she was plastered against the window until she backed off and screaming and growling at me.”

Bradeen said he was shaken by the sight and the determination of the cougar, which appeared to be really ticked off about the foiled attack.

“Then I felt a little bad,” he said. “I’m heavy so I would have made a good meal for her. But I want people to know. I don’t want that to happen to any school kids.”

Rich Landers

OUTDOOR FILMS

Flicks at NIC

An outdoor festival featuring animations, cultural documentaries and adventure films from the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride, Colo., is scheduled for Friday at North Idaho College. Admission is free with a canned food donation.

Activities, including live music by local folk band Ashbury Park, concessions and outdoor equipment rentals will begin at 6 p.m. at NIC’s Fort Sherman Park behind the Edminster Student Union Building. The films will start at dark.

Bring blankets and lawn chairs. Info: 769-7809.

Rich Landers

MOUNT SPOKANE PARK

Lookout relocated on Quartz Mountain

A forest fire lookout that had been removed two years ago from the summit of Mount Spokane has found a new home and an new role nearby on Quartz Mountain, also in Mount Spokane State Park.

Starting next summer, the lookout will be available to rent for a simple room with a view in the park.

The lookout cabin was reassembled on a pad leveled on the summit of the mountain that’s within the cross-country skiing and biking trail system.

“We should be done with the roofing this week and the new windows are coming,” said Patrick Henry, park recreation ranger. “It should be ready for the public to use next summer.”

The lookout, which will not be insulated or equipped with a stove, will not be available to rent during winter, Henry said.

Visitors who use the lookout when it opens for summer use will have to hike up a half mile or so from where people with reservations would have to park their vehicle, he said.

Rich Landers