HUNTING -- The Idaho Department of Fish and Game won House approval to give hunters and anglers a break on their licenses, provided they buy them year after year. The agency needs approval from the state legislature to change hunting and fishing license fees. Representatives…
HUNTING -- While some hunters are wincing at the prospect of hunting licenses fees going up a few bucks, one Idaho hunter has bid $305,000 in an auction to hunt deer on Antelope Island in Utah. He has the means and Utah has the right…
WINTER SPORTS -- Biathlon is a sport that mixes the oil and water of revving up the heartbeat with aerobic cross-country skiing and then asking your circulatory system to calm down instantly for precise marksmanship with the .22-caliber rifle you must carry with a special…
TRAILS -- The big effort recently invested in updating Spokane County's 2008 Regional Trails Plan has resulted in maps and details important to everyone from hikers to developers. The Spokane County Commissioners approved the updated plan on Tuesday. The goal of the plan has always…
ORIENTEERING -- The Eastern Washington Orienteering Club's first event of 2014 is set for Saturday, Feb. 22, at Manito Park (18th and Grand) in Spokane. This is a great map, compass and exercise activity for the whole family. Using maps and compass, you must find…
RIVERS -- The level of Lake Roosevelt near the elevation of 1,273 feet today and lake levels are expected to remain between 1,271-1,273 this week, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Grand Coulee Dam is being operated to meet power demand and the minimum…
FISHING -- All fishing on the Tucannon River, including fishing for hatchery steelhead and whitefish, will close March 1 through June 6, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department has announced. Reason for action: A large component of Tucannon River wild steelhead enters the river in…
TRAPPING -- I reported in December that pets, especially dogs, are vulnerable to traps set out near recreational trails. As if to emphasize the point, two dogs have been reported killed recently by traps in North Idaho. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is…
WINTER SPORTS -- Snow that piled up in Western mountains after snow-drought conditions in January has created hazards that have caused a spike in avalanche fatalities among skiers and snowmobilers. The nine deaths from avalanches across the Western U.S. in the past 11 days have…
FISHING -- An Idaho record yellow perch was caught Saturday in Cascade Lake north of Boise. Luke Spaete of Boise was participating in a fishing derby when he caught the fish, which weighed 2 pounds, 10.88 ounces and was 15 and three-quarters of an inch…
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- Washington Fish and Wildlife police are investigating a wolf found dead in Stevens County on Feb. 9. They report the circumstances "appear suspicious." Wolves are a protected species in Washington and the penalties for killing them outside of self defense or defense…
NATURE -- Less than two weeks after single-digit temperatures chilled the region, the cheery buttercups -- bold, ground-hugging harbingers of spring -- were blooming in profusion around the Dishman Hills Natural area, according to Jeff Lambert of the Dishman Hills Conservancy.
WINTER SPORTS – Take a gamble on the hand you’re dealt to win prizes at the Panhandle Nordic Club’s 23rd annual Best Hand Fun Ski and Snowshoe event Saturday, Feb. 22, starting at noon at Fourth of July Pass. Skiers will do an 8-kilometer course…
FISHING -- Although there’s still work to be done, Lake Pend Oreille’s troubled traditional fisheries continued their revival with a huge rebound in 2013. On Wednesday, Feb. 19, Idaho Fish and Game will present information about the status of the Pend Oreille fishery and management…
WILDLIFE -- Randall Friedlander has been hired as the new director of the Colville Tribes’ Fish and Wildlife Department. Friedlander served as interim director for the past year, replacing former director Joe Peone, who left the job unceremoniously. Friedlander oversees about 130 employees and a…
PREDATORS -- The S-R's reporter in Boise has been following Gov. Otter's request for $2 million to bolster wolf control in Idaho. The plan seeks to reduce Idaho's population of around 600 wolves -- down from closer to 1,000 a few years ago -- to…
FISHERIES -- A ring of commercial fishermen gone bad has been nabbed selling crabs -- often undersized and removed from the sea before they could spawn a new generation -- on the black market around Puget Sound. See the undercover video in a report by…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- The spring bird migration often subtly comes to our attention. Other times, it's obvious even to the casual observer. Here's a head's up from the weekend by birder Terry Gray in the Palouse: Today in east Moscow there were many American Robins…
MOUNTAINEERING -- A former Mount Rainier climbing ranger believed to be the first person to climb Washington's highest peak in fewer than five hours, died Friday in a mountaineering accident in Patagonia, according to a report in the Tacoma-News Tribune. Chad Kellogg, 42 of Seattle,…
FISHING -- If you're one of those steelheaders who's been avoiding the Clearwater River because of this season's poor fish returns, here's a big THANK YOU from the anglers who've been enjoying your absence. Read on for the Lewiston Tribune story that points out the…
HUNTING -- A short story version ran in the paper Saturday telling of a Montana big-game hunter who's suing a Canadian outfitter and a world-renowned hunting guide in Tajikistan for stealing the trophy horns of a rare wild argali sheep known as the “Marco Polo.”…
Elite mountaineer Chad Kellogg dies on Patagonia peak Loss of functional Royalex puts canoe industry in flux Kits convert dirt bikes for winter season on snow Field Reports: Another state starts study of moose Out & About: Stienbeck boat in Port Townsend Langlauf: Our own…
CONSERVATION -- Some conservationists didn't hide their happiness to hear that Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., is retiring after 20 years in Congress, an unexpected announcement that drew both cheers and jeers Thursday in the nation’s capital. As chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, he's…
CONSERVATION -- The effort to modernize the international Columbia River Treaty and perhaps return salmon upstream over Grand Coulee Dam will be highlighted in an annual conservation benefit program during an evening of food and presentations on Friday, Feb. 21, at the Patsy Clark Mansion…
PREDATORS -- The Northeast Washington Wildlife Group's 2014 Coyote Derby in Stevens, Spokane and Pend Oreille counties began Feb. 4 and runs to March 31. Derby organizers say the annual event is in an effort to help relieve the predation of the deer herds in…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
| Dec. 2014 | Nov. 2014 | Oct. 2014 | Sept. 2014 |
| Aug. 2014 | July 2014 | June 2014 | May 2014 |
| April 2014 | March 2014 | Feb. 2014 | Jan. 2014 |
