Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Groups to sue over limiting of caribou habitat

  February 3, 2013 in City on Page B2 Environmental groups intend to sue the federal government over its decision to cut more than 90 percent of the land originally proposed as critical habitat for the last mountain caribou … 6

• Landers: Snowmobilers still waiting for Selkirk access

  December 6, 2012 in Outdoors, Sports on Page B1 Snowmobilers have been champing at the bit to make tracks across the crest of Idaho’s Selkirk Mountains, where they’ve been banned since 2005. On Nov. 27, the U.S. Fish and … 3

• Fish and Wildlife sets aside land for caribou

  November 28, 2012 in City on Page A5 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is designating about 30,000 acres in northeast Washington and North Idaho as critical habitat for woodland caribou, a fraction of the 375,000 acres originally … 15

• Federal government protects a fraction of proposed area for caribou

    November 27, 2012 The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is designating about 30,000 acres in Northeast Washington and North Idaho as critical habitat for woodland caribou, a fraction of the 375,000 acres originally … 5

• Idaho senators oppose expanded caribou habitat

  June 22, 2012 in Idaho on Page A7 Only two woodland caribou were spotted in North Idaho in 1983, when the last wild herd in the Lower 48 received emergency protection under the Endangered Species Act. As the … 1

• Snowmobiler-commissioned study disputes caribou impact

  June 14, 2012 in City, Idaho, Outdoors on Page A1 PRIEST LAKE, Idaho – Protecting habitat for woodland caribou has cost North Idaho’s economy $26 million, with winter tourism in the resort area of Priest Lake taking the biggest hit, … 8

• Caribou habitat costs studied

    May 31, 2012 in Idaho on Page A5 Protecting old-growth habitat for endangered woodland caribou will cost about $1.5 million over the next 20 years, according to a draft economic analysis prepared for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife … 6

• Bonner County files petition to delist caribou

  May 10, 2012 in Idaho on Page A7 Endangered species protections should be rescinded for the 46 caribou in the South Selkirk herd, Bonner County argued Wednesday in a delisting petition. “Caribou aren’t endangered, when you look at … 3

• County seeking to delist caribou

  April 29, 2012 in Idaho on Page B1 A law firm that successfully argued a North Idaho couple’s wetlands dispute with the federal government before the U.S. Supreme Court has been retained by Bonner County to petition for … 5

• Landers: TV hunting host fined; Walleye bounty proposed - Oh my!

  March 22, 2012 in Outdoors, Sports on Page B1 Steelheading streams are off color and the wild turkey hunting season is still more than three weeks off. With a little breather in the action, let’s play the field today, … 2

• Feds extend comment period for caribou habitat

  March 20, 2012 in Idaho, Outdoors Citing requests from Idaho’s governor, local governments and the Kootenai Tribe, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced a 60-day extension for public comment on a proposal to designate …

• Caribou face precarious prognosis

  February 26, 2012 in City, Idaho, Outdoors on Page A1 While the Cessna 182 circled, Tim Layser used binoculars to peer down into a snowy meadow. Woodland caribou tracks crossed the glade and led into a grove of trees. But … 16

• Caribou comment period extended

  February 1, 2012 in Idaho on Page A7 Members of the public will have an additional 60 days to comment on a controversial plan to designate 375,000 acres in the Selkirk Mountains as critical habitat for endangered caribou. …

• Caribou protection worries officials

  December 21, 2011 in Idaho on Page A5 Protecting habitat for woodland caribou will create economic hardships in Bonner County’s rural communities, its board of commissioners said Tuesday, predicting that the designation would create new restrictions on logging, … 1

• Field reports: Visiting snowy owls find roads rough

  December 18, 2011 in Outdoors on Page C11 MIGRANTS – Snowy owls seem to be showing up in ones and twos all over the northern tier of the United States this winter as they migrate from arctic homes …

• Feds propose critical caribou habitat in Idaho, Washington

  November 29, 2011 in City, Outdoors The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today a proposal to designate 375,562 acres of critical habitat in North Idaho and northeastern Washington for southern Selkirk Mountains woodland caribou (Rangifer … 6

• Forest Service may close off-road area to snowmobiling

  December 20, 2009 in Idaho on Page B1 Only a few rogue snowmobilers willfully ride into off-limits areas of protected Selkirk caribou habitat, organized snowmobile groups say. But the actions of a few are jeopardizing access for the … 1

• Colville trail access in jeopardy

  December 13, 2009 on Page C11 Access to a large Colville National Forest area popular with snowmobilers could be closed this winter if rogue sledders continue to ignore a federal closure that aims to protect endangered …

• Agency will study habitat of caribou

  June 4, 2009 in Idaho on Page A7 Just 45 woodland caribou are believed to remain in the Selkirk Mountains. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to study whether their alpine habitat needs stronger protections. …

• Snowmobilers face denied access

  February 12, 2009 in Outdoors on Page B1 Strike two has been called against snowmobilers in northern Pend Oreille County. For the second consecutive year, a few renegades have forced a season closure of Harvey Creek Road 1935, …

• Lawsuit filed to protect caribou

  January 16, 2009 in Idaho on Page A5 Woodland caribou in the Selkirk Mountains are so imperiled that they could vanish within the next 20 years, extinguishing the last caribou herd in the Lower 48 states, environmental groups …

• Caribou country restrictions being enforced

  April 1, 2008 in City on Page B2 So far this winter three snowmobile riders have been cited for entering areas northwest of Priest Lake that are closed to protect woodland caribou habitat. A 2007 federal court order …

• Forest Service crafting caribou plan

  March 20, 2007 in Idaho on Page B1 Though the debate over snowmobiles and caribou in the Priest Lake area sometimes seems intractable, the U.S. Forest Service believes a new management plan will help put the issue to …

• Snowmobiling area ruled off-limits

  February 15, 2007 in Idaho on Page B1 A popular backcountry snowmobiling area north of Upper Priest Lake has again been ruled off-limits to snowmobiles in an effort to protect the Lower 48’s last herd of caribou. Wednesday’s …

• Tense trail mix in the Selkirks

  December 17, 2006 in Idaho on Page A1 NORDMAN, Idaho – The whine of snowmobile engines again echoes through the national forest here. The sound infuriates those seeking to protect the Lower 48 states’ last herd of caribou …

• Proceed with care

  November 12, 2006 in Opinion on Page B8 Saving the last caribou in the lower 48 states is important. But saving the winter economy of the Priest Lake area is important, too. U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley, of …

• Priest Lake’s trails reopened

  November 8, 2006 in Idaho on Page B1 A federal judge in Spokane delivered a gift to snowmobilers across the region Tuesday when he reopened several key trails in caribou habitat surrounding Priest Lake, Idaho. Priest Lake resort …

• Caribou advocates, USFS seek trail deal

  October 15, 2006 in Idaho on Page B1 Caribou advocates will work with the U.S. Forest Service in coming weeks in an attempt to determine which trails could be reopened in caribou habitat, following a recent ruling by …

• Snowmobilers lose access

  September 26, 2006 in Idaho on Page A1 In an effort to save the last remaining mountain caribou herd in the Lower 48 states, a federal judge has banned snowmobiling on nearly 300,000 acres of national forest near …