Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Long-distance relationship: Sandpoint couple scores backpacking Triple Crown

  May 13, 2012 in Outdoors on Page C10 After enduring six months backpacking the Appalachian Trail, Phil Hough and Deb Hunsicker were pretty sure their relationship was good for the long haul. They confirmed they could go the …

• North Idaho hikers find peak place close to home

  May 13, 2012 in Outdoors on Page C9 The Scotchman Peaks area northeast of Lake Pend Oreille is a roadless area the Sandpoint couple prizes. For seven years, Hough and Hunsicker have been leaders in Friends of the … 3

• Backpackers gear down for long distance hikes

  May 13, 2012 in Outdoors on Page C9 Phil Hough and Deb Hunsicker have winnowed their long-distance hiking gear to a base weight (sans food and water) of 15-19 pounds, depending on how many luxuries they bring, such … 1

• Field reports: Washington takes action on new hunting rules

  April 8, 2012 in Outdoors on Page C9 HUNTING – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will take action on proposed changes in hunting rules for the 2012-14 seasons at a public meeting Friday and Saturday in Olympia. …

• With 7 national parks nearby, paradise always within reach

  April 8, 2012 in Features, Travel on Page D8 Within a day’s drive of Spokane, there are seven national parks – Rainier, Olympic and North Cascades in Washington, Glacier in Montana, Crater Lake in Oregon, and Grand Teton and …

• Public land decisions run into roadblocks

  February 26, 2012 in Outdoors on Page C12 Wilderness boundaries are a mere fraction of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest draft management plan – and the headaches associated with getting it approved. Ten years in the making, the …

• 2011: Out & about

  January 1, 2012 in Outdoors on Page C9 Badger Lake residents challenged and postponed an aquatic weed herbicide application proposed by other lake residents. Felt got the boot in Maryland, the first state to ban felt-soled boots for …

• Selway River trout thrive in sanctuary away from crowds

  October 9, 2011 in Outdoors on Page C14 A splash breaks the surface of a deep, jade-colored pool in the Selway River. “Fish on!” That phrase echoed constantly on a 47-mile, float trip through the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, the … 1

• Landers: Colville National Forest meeting made irrelevant

  August 11, 2011 in Outdoors on Page B1 Rudeness has been stifling the Colville National Forest meetings set to inform the public about proposed revisions to the forest’s management plans. The meeting at Colville two weeks ago was, … 9

• Wide-open wilderness

  July 31, 2011 in Outdoors on Page C10 There’s something for everyone – trail users, ranchers, loggers, hunters, ORVers and wilderness advocates – to like and dislike in the early proposals for managing the Colville and Okanogan-Wenatchee national …

• Babbitt blasts ‘radical’ GOP bill on public lands

  July 26, 2011 in Nation/World, Region Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is blasting as “radical” a Republican proposal to open up more than 50 million acres of public lands to logging and other development. Babbitt, who … 35

• North Idaho summer group hikes scheduled

  May 29, 2011 in Outdoors on Page C11 Two North Idaho conservation organizations have scheduled a full summer season of guided group hikes and related events, starting Saturday. The trips range from easy to difficult and from the …

• The Gear Junkie surveys 5 options for purifying water

  May 1, 2011 in Outdoors on Page C9 Clean drinking water in the wilderness is never guaranteed. No matter how pristine the lake or stream, giardia and cryptosporidium and other microbes can inhabit the waters, threatening illness that …

• Out & About: Fishing reports coming Thursday

  April 10, 2011 in Outdoors on Page C10 Fishing 2011, The Spokesman-Review’s annual update on fishing prospects, rules and opportunities throughout the Inland Northwest, will be inserted in the Thursday paper.

• Poll shows support for wilderness in Colville National Forest

  April 6, 2011 in Outdoors, Idaho on Page A7 Voters are willing to support new wilderness designations on the Colville National Forest, a recent poll suggests, when they’re packaged with stepped-up timber harvests in other areas of the forest … 3

• Otter underestimates wilderness use to Congress

  March 3, 2011 in Outdoors, Idaho Idaho Gov. Butch Otter greatly underestimated the number of people who visit a central Idaho wilderness when telling members of Congress how little wilderness means to residents in the state, … 4

• GOP to fight ‘wild lands’ initiative

  March 2, 2011 in City on Page A6 WASHINGTON – Western Republican governors and members of Congress vowed Tuesday to fight an Obama administration “wild lands” initiative they say could prevent oil and gas drilling on millions of …

• Western lawmakers, governors fight wild lands proposal

  March 1, 2011 in News, Nation/World, Idaho, Region Western Republican governors and members of Congress vowed Tuesday to fight an Obama administration “wild lands” initiative they say could prevent oil-and-gas drilling on millions of acres of federal land. …

• Wilderness rules will be restored

  December 26, 2010 in City on Page B3 DENVER – The Obama administration plans to reverse a Bush-era policy and make millions of undeveloped acres of land once again eligible for federal wilderness protection, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar …

• Great Burn Wilderness remains subject of debate

  August 21, 2010 in Outdoors, Idaho on Page A1 The 1910 fires – and significant wildfires that followed into the 1930s – had a devastating hand in bestowing rugged portions of the Bitterroot Mountains with new life.

• Trails and fish flourished in aftermath of 1910 fires

    August 15, 2010 in Outdoors on Page C10 It’s no coincidence that today’s choice hiking trails traverse mountains charred by the 1910 fires.

• Simpson hasn’t given up Idaho wilderness hopes

  August 6, 2010 in Outdoors, Idaho, Region U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson says he hasn’t given up hope on his plan to create a new central Idaho wilderness. 2

• Kids’ Fish-In at Clear Lake

  April 4, 2010 in Outdoors on Page C12 OUTCAST – An annual spring fishing event for kids is set for May 1 at Clear Lake in Spokane County. For $5, kids age 5-14 will get a T-shirt plus …

• Field reports: Blue Mountains planning starts

  April 4, 2010 in Outdoors on Page C11 NATIONAL FORESTS – National Forests along the Blue Mountains – Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman – will begin their management plan update process this month with open-house meetings and a two-month … 1

• Yellowstone wolves decline in ’09

  February 21, 2010 in Outdoors on Page C13 PREDATORS – The number of wolves in Yellowstone National Park declined about 23 percent in 2009, a change park biologists say is typical of natural fluctuations for wildlife species. Yellowstone’s …

• Out & About

  January 17, 2010 in Outdoors on Page C14 BASS drops women’s contests OUTCAST – The Women’s Bassmaster Tour for professional tournament fishing has been dropped for 2010, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society announced last week.

• Rich Landers: Brazell brought stability

  October 8, 2009 in Outdoors on Page B1 Rick Brazell packed his bags and departed the Colville National Forest last week, leaving forest users stunned and uncertain about years of effort invested in the wilderness debate. Since becoming …

• Clearing the way

  September 20, 2009 in Outdoors on Page C12 At first glance last weekend, the group of four backpackers appeared to be making a huge sacrifice. The September sky was brilliantly clean, cloudless and bugless as they trekked past …

• Colville forest supervisor takes new job

  September 5, 2009 in City on Page B6 Colville National Forest Supervisor Rick Brazell has accepted a new assignment as supervisor for the Nez Perce and Clearwater national forests, the Forest Service announced Friday afternoon. Brazell will split …

• Expansive lands bill establishes trails, wilderness in Northwest

  March 26, 2009 in Outdoors, City on Page A1 Recreational trails through the Northwest and a wilderness area in Idaho are part of a massive public lands bill that passed the U.S. House on Wednesday and awaits President Barack …

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