Out & About

Limits begin on Mt. Spokane road

Starting this week, the main road into Mount Spokane State Park will be closed to public access Mondays-Thursdays until mid-October.

Hikers and cyclists will have daily access to the park on trails and roads that are not under construction in this fourth phase of improvements to Mount Spokane Park Road. Free parking will be available in a designated area at Bear Creek Lodge.

Owners of property within the park will be allowed access at two-hour intervals.

The road closure may extend through a few weekends later in the summer when a culvert is installed, said Steve Christensen, park manager.

Duck stamp boosts waterfowl habitat

Wildlife – The 2009 federal duck stamp went on sale last week, marking 75 years of funding for wetland conservation.

Since its inception in 1934, the stamp has generated more than $700 million and conserved more than 5.2 million acres in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Sales totaled more than 1.6 million stamps a year.

Waterfowl hunters buy the stamp as part of their license requirements and many non-hunting conservationists also get the $15 stamps as a contribution – and to cover entry into federal refuges.

The 2009-2010 art features a long-tailed duck and decoy by Joshua Spies of South Dakota.

A junior duck stamp and related artwork also has been released for collecting and art sales.

Hiking areas going to pot

NATIONAL FORESTS – An illegal crop is a growing concern on area forests.

The Idaho Panhandle and Wenatchee-Okanogan national forests are warning forest visitors to be on the lookout for marijuana plots and other drug operations.

Leave the area immediately if you find evidence of cultivation and report the spot to the sheriff or Forest Service.

Clues include tool caches, garbage dumps, fertilizer, pesticides, potting soil, irrigation tubing, watering cans and chicken wire.

More than 10,000 plants were eradicated last year and the land rehabilitation continues this year from a single marijuana growing site discovered in the Methow Valley. The site was connected to an international drug- trafficking organization.

Fly-fishing date: Georgetown Lake

FLY FISHING – The calendar has a reminder note for this week: “Georgetown Lake.”

Time to pack the fly rods and check out this roomy but discovered fishery along the Pintlar Range near Anaconda, Mont.

Traveling sedges lure big trout to the surface in the Stuart Mill Arm. Skate a No. 10 Goddard Caddis across the surface. Make sure there’s a defibrillator in the boat.