Field reports: Whales parade past West Coast

MARINE MAMMALS – Pacific Coast observers spotted more whales this winter than in any of the past five, and the massive mammals are still passing by.

Trained whale watchers at 24 sites in Oregon and one each in California and Washington reported sighting 672 whales during whale-watching week, Dec. 26-Jan. 1. That’s almost double the sightings in 2005-06.

About 18,000 grays and 1,100 humpbacks migrate along the coast at a rate of about 30 an hour in December and January migration.

Pregnant females lead a fast pace to Baja so they can start calving in February.

Staff and wire reports

Swan fund reaches $2,000

ENFORCEMENT – The Dec. 28 shooting of a trumpeter swan prompted donations to a reward that’s reached $2,000.

Warren Current, who lives hear the Colville River where the incident occurred, organized the reward for information about the shooting.

He said he’s stopped taking donations, noting that $2,000 should be enough to get the information. Now they just need more tips, he said.

 Rich Landers

Harriman pact may save parks

STATE PARKS – The Harriman family had foresight nearly 30 years ago to require that Idaho maintain a professional park service as a condition for their donation of Harriman State Park in eastern Idaho along the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River.

That agreement appears to be what’s keeping Idaho’s budget crisis from moving oversight of 30 state parks to the recreation-challenged Department of Lands.

A look around the region indicates the 45-year-old Idaho Parks and Recreation agency is an important asset, especially in a bad economy:

•Montana’s 54 state parks reported a record 2 million visits in 2009, up 15 percent from 2008 when a lot more people had jobs.

•More than 2 million people visited Glacier National Park in 2009, and increase of more than 12 percent from 2008.

•California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year proposed closing 220 of California’s 279 parks in the face of a multibillion-dollar deficit. The governor backed off after protests.

Rich Landers

Dates corrected

The Gun, Horn and Fur Show is Feb. 12-14, at the fairgrounds at Bonners Ferry.

The Outdoor Sports Expo is March 5-7 at the Sandpoint fairgrounds.

The dates were incorrect in a story last Sunday.