PUBLIC LANDS -- Kahlotus Ridgetop, in Washington's Franklin County is among six of the newest national natural landmarks designated by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. Kahlotus Ridgetop, known for its remnant Palouse prairie, was nominated by the Washington Department of Natural Resources for the National Parks…
SALMON FISHING -- Harvest of adult chinook salmon in the North Fork Clearwater River and mainstem Clearwater River downstream of the Orofino Bridge will close at the end of fishing hours on Sunday. Adult chinook salmon are defined as 24 inches or greater in total…
MOUNTAIN RESORTS -- Schweitzer Mountain Resort will open its summer season on Saturday with food, outdoor games and activities, food, live music and FREE chair lift rides. Normally, hikers and mountain bikers would take advantage of this summer-opening special in conditions you might expect in…
SHELLFISHING -- Seattle Times outdoor writer Mark Yuasa dove head-first into the sport of goeduck harvesting last week. Read for insight on the technique his friends have developed for gathering the heavyweight of Pacific Northwest clams.
FISHING -- Another step has been taken toward restoring the fabled steelhead and salmon runs once the dams are removed from the Elwha River near Port Angeles. The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe’s new fish hatchery was completed May 13 and has received its first batch…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Bull elk are hanging out with the boys concentrating on being well fed and ready for the fall mating season. Their antlers are in full-growth mode as the annual crop of velvet-covered boney material sprouts from their heads. The remote trail cam…
OUTDOOR WRITING – The Outdoor Writers Association of America has just awarded 12 Norm Strung Youth Writing prizes totaling $1,700 to young, talented writers who tackled outdoor themes in prose and poetry. What's particularly notable to me is that this may be the first time…
SKIING -- Mt. Bachelor ski area near Bend, Ore., will open for summer skiing and snowboarding on July 1 with expanded holiday opportunities July 2-July 4 including intermediate and advanced skiing from the summit, snow and weather conditions permitting. Mt. Bachelor will be open for…
HIKING -- Several groups of hikers celebrated the summer solstice by trekking to the top of Antoine Peak after work and hiking down into the sunset. Antoine is a Spokane County Conservation Futures acquisition that forms the green mountain backdrop north of East Valley High…
NATIONAL FORESTS -- Some Idaho Panhandle National Forests’ offices will be closed Wednesday to allow Forest Service employees to attend classroom training prior to the summer field season. Offices closed on June 22 (one day) include: · Bonners Ferry Ranger District (Bonners Ferry) · Sandpoint…
ALMOST FISHING -- S-R colleague Jim Kershner couldn't have been more excited if he'd just landed a whopper brown trout. He came into the office gushing about the salmonfly he found fluttering on the sidewalk on his way to work. Vaguely reminiscent of the legendary…
STATE PARKS -- With snow still clogging the summit road and portions of the nordic trail system, Mount Spokane State Park managers are behind on their schedule to open spring-summer trails and facilities. "We booked reservations for the Quartz Mountain fire lookout rental starting in…
BOATING -- A divided King County Council has passed a measure to require all swimmers, floaters and boaters on the county’s rivers to wear life vests. Spokane County already has a similar law that reads: All persons regardless of age shall wear a personal flotation…
NATIONAL PARKS -- Olympic National Park rangers killed an elk Friday after it had charged three vehicles and damaged a tent at the Hoh Rain Forest campground. This event comes a year after a mountain goat was killed after it gored and killed a backpacker,…
HUNTING -- Montana has announced drawing results for 2011 fall moose, sheep and mountain goat hunting permits. Idaho and Washington put drawing results online last week. FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim says 22,707 people applied for 387 moose tags; 13,140 applied for 358 mountain goat tags…
WILDLIFE -- A couple in Battle Ground, Wash., had a rude awakening this week when the family cat lured an uninvited guest through the "kitty door" into their house. Read on for the entertaining story from The (Vancouver) Columbian.
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- While nature seems to be wrapped up with producing this year's new crop of fawns, bucks are in the background quietly getting ready for the next mating season. Daniel Haththorne's trail cam recorded this nice whitetail buck and its blooming rack of…
FLY FISHING -- Scott Noble, master bamboo fly rod craftsman and fly-fishing expert, will offer a show-and-tell on building handmade bamboo fly fishing rods during the noon lunch on June 28 at the Hayden Senior Center, 9428 N. Government Way, in Hayden, Idaho. RSVP: (208)…
OUTDOOR SKILLS– Whether you’re a church group leader or a solo adventurer, you can benefit from short summer outdoor courses in skills such as rafting and kayaking offered by Eastern Washington University. Veteran outdoor recreation professor Paul Green is offering two special courses: Outdoor Leadership,…
CONSERVATION -- Thousands of people have enjoyed the Dishman Hills Natural Area and other conservation lands in this Spokane Valley paradise, but the association that's worked to protect and preserve the area has only about 200 members. Sounds like area residents are letting others do…
BICYCLING -- Weekend reports from cyclists indicate that wildlife is alive and well along the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, especially in the Bull Run-to-Cataldo stretch. And you might want to figure in a little wildlife waiting time into your next trail itinerary. And perhaps…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- Sales of hunting and fishing licenses are down in Idaho and other states. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has lost more than $2 million in sales of non-resident elk tags since lawmakers raised the price for the tags by $44.25…
HIKING -- "Washington Backpacking," a new guide to 70 multi-day backpacking trips across the state, has just been published by The Mountaineers-Books, and the author will be in Spokane on Monday to provide a slide-show peek at the ground he covered. Craig Romano will present…
RIVER RUNNING -- We're just getting the first reports from a Spokane group that bagged their Grand Canyon rafter permit after 15 years on the waiting list. Sounds like it was a great reward for years of anticipation. "Off the river and all is well!"…
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- The audio recording of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission's Wednesday teleconference is available online, giving us insight to the panels take on the Washington Wolf Working Group's recent effort to hash out a revised Wolf Management Plan. Check it out. Or,…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
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