Field Reports: Fishing, boating, wilderness, climbing and more
PREDATORS – A state wolf specialist in Montana says mountain lions killed two radio- collared wolves in the Bitterroot Valley since January.
Liz Bradley of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said she found a dead wolf with skull puncture wounds, a trademark of a mountain lion.
The lion ate part of the wolf and covered the rest with debris.
In January she found another dead wolf west of Lolo with the same wounds. A deer carcass nearby indicated the two predators apparently fought.
Last year she found two other wolves with puncture wounds in their skulls.
Club hands out pheasant chicks
WILDLIFE — More than 6,400 pheasant chicks have been distributed in the past few weeks to people in the Spokane region who vowed to raise and release the birds into the wild.
The annual chick program is facilitated by the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council.
The chicks are mostly hens, the byproduct of captive rearing programs that raise pheasants for hunter release sites.
Lake Roosevelt services altered
BOATING – On-water fuel service will not be available at Daisy Station on Lake Roosevelt until further notice as crews upgrade equipment, the National Park Service says.
Meantime, 5-gallon containers will be available to move gas from the roadside pump to the boat dock for fueling boats.
Updates: (509) 738-2995.
• Kettle Falls Marina is offering all services, including houseboat rental, fuel, groceries and moorage. Info: (509) 738-6121.
• Seven Bays also offers houseboat rental, fuel, groceries, moorage.
• Keller Ferry offers all of the above services except houseboat rentals.
Info for Keller Ferry and Seven Bays: (509) 725-7229.
Roosevelt’s lake level continues to rise. It’s scheduled to reach full pool, inundating most beaches, by July 4.
Bill would add Olympic wilderness
FORESTS – A bill introduced Thursday in both the U.S. Senate and House would create 126,000 acres of new wilderness in Washington’s Olympic National Forest.
Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Norm Dicks said the Wild Olympics wilderness proposal is a compromise written after nearly three years of consultation with area residents, business owners, organizations and tribes.
It would designate 19 rivers and seven tributaries as Wild and Scenic Rivers.
Mountaineers log deadly week
CLIMBING – Serious accidents occurred on three of the region’s tallest volcanic mountains in the past week:
• Mount Baker: A climber who reached the summit last week died on the way down when he skied off a cliff and fell about 800 feet. The body of Keith Hardy, 34, a physician from Seattle, could not be recovered at the 8,200-feet level until Thursday because of weather.
• Mount Rainier: Park Service climbing ranger Nick Hall, 33, slid 3,000 feet to his death Thursday during a rescue of four Texas climbers who’d fallen on a glacier, dumping two of the party in a crevass. The climbers later were evacuated and hospitalized in conditions ranging from good to fair.
• Mount Hood: Solo climber Gary Morgan, 52, survived a 500-foot fall Thursday on a popular Hogsback summit route and required rescue.
He fell in the same south side of the mountain area where a climber died in a 1,000-foot fall last week. That was the second climbing death of the year on the peak rising 11,239 feet in the Cascade Range 50 miles east of Portland.
Schweitzer offers free chairlift rides
RESORTS – Free chairlift rides, barbecues, live music and other activities headline the Summer Celebration set for Saturday to open the Schweitzer Mountain Resort summer season.
However, with snow still covering the top of the mountain, bicycles are not yet being allowed to go up the lift to ride the trail system.
The Great Escape Quad will run 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. for free rides to the 6,400-foot summit for views of Idaho, Washington, Montana and Canada.
Schweitzer will be operating a new zip line, air jumper, climbing wall and sluice box.
Info: (208) 255-3081.
Gold Pass open
FISHING – A path was plowed last week through the lingering snow on Gold Pass, the popular access route from St. Regis, Mont., to the St. Joe River.
Big cash prizes In PO Pike derby
FISHING – Sign-up is underway for the Pike Palooza fishing derby on the Pend Oreille River, Friday through next Sunday, sponsored by the Kalispel Tribe.
Prizes up to $1,000 are offered in a variety of categories so the contest appeals to anglers of all ages. Categories include most fish, longest fish, total length of catch, smallest fish and tagged fish.
Each fish caught also gives participants a ticket for raffle drawings.
There’s no entry fee, but participants must preregister before fishing. Online registration closes at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Anglers can register on site at check stations.
The event includes the river from the Idaho state line to Boundary Dam.
Even though most of the non-native pike were gillnetted out of the Box Canyon Reservoir portion of the river this spring, pike are still available and new few likely are coming down from Montana.
Info: kalispeltribe.com.
•A second Pike Palooza is set for Aug. 3-5.