RIVERS -- Local staff at the National Weather Services has compiled sobering data from the USGS WaterWatch on the amount of water trickling out of our mountains and into our iconic creeks and rivers. Early melt off of our of below average snowpack in the...
PUBLIC LANDS -- The Wilderness Act is colliding with federal mining laws in a famed protected roadless area in Central Idaho -- and the mining laws rule. Payette National Forest Supervisor Keith Lannom has decided to allow miners to bring dump trucks and bulldozers into…
BOATING -- The level of Lake Roosevelt was at 1280 Tuesday and is likely to rise to the 1284-1286 range on July 3 as it continues to gradually fill, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says. That could keep extended-holiday boaters and campers on their toes, especially if...
PADDLING -- Riverside State Park is kicking off a weekly series of evening programs with a presentation on Paddling the Columbia River by Spokane adventurer John Roskelley on Wednesday, June 24. The Wednesdays in the Woods programs, sponsored by REI, are scheduled on the last...
PUBLIC LANDS -- The Kettle River Campground has been closed as a precaution because of a human-caused fire burning nearby, according to officials from the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. A grass fire that was whipped up by winds on Monday forced evacuation of the…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- The chicks have hatched and the popular annual Osprey Boat Cruise that follows biologists checking nests and banding the young "fish hawks" of the year is set for 9 a.m.-11 a.m. on July 11. Reserve one of the 150 seats on the...
HUNTING -- Hunters who applied for elk, deer, pronghorn, fall turkey and black bear controlled hunts can check online to see whether they were successful in the recent computerized drawing. Enter your hunting license number and follow three steps to find out you were successful....
RIVERS -- All mountain stations across Washington that measure snowpack are reporting the same number: zero. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t any snow at higher elevations. There are glaciers up there,” Jeff Marti of the state Department of Ecology tells the Seattle Times. “It does…
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- As reported last week, Washington has trapped and radio-collared at least five gray wolves this spring, adding to its pool of wolves that are transmitting data about their individual movements and as well as their associated packs. This information is valuable to...
HUNTING -- As with any athlete, you can't expect to put a good bird dog in the field without weeks of training for the season. With just 10 weeks until the opening of the forest grouse season, time's a-wasting. I had my English setter, Scout,…
FISHING – Rock Lake is being planted this week with 255,000 steelhead from Washington hatcheries connected to a wild fish lawsuit that prevents their release in Puget Sound streams. The fish are 6-8 inches long and should be a big boost fishing at the Whitman...
PARKS – Proposals for managing a 280-acre “Trautman” addition to Riverside State Park will be discussed in a public workshop, 6:30 p.m., Thursday, June 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Lakeside Middle School Auditorium, 6169 Highway 291, Nine Mile Falls. Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/kPP5E Management objectives to be…
FISHING -- The trip isn't until August, but I've been sorting through gear I'll be taking for a float trip with three buddies to fly fish for silver salmon in Alaska. I've been anticipating this trip for more reasons than one. The last time I...
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- A just-released update on wolf management in Washington indicates that wolf packs are shifting territories somewhat and that they are not having significant detectable impacts on the state's big-game herds. Following is a portion of the update from Dave Ware, Washington Department…
FISHING -- A free Columbia River Summer Chinook & Sockeye Tactics Seminar will be presented at noon, June 27, at Sportsman’s Warehouse, 6720 N. Division St. in Spokane, organized by The Coastal Conservation Association. Professional Fishing Guide, Mike Roth of Team Takedown Guide Service will...
CAMPING -- TV weather reporter Kris Crocker, full of honesty and good humor, says she's lost the itch to go camping. We forgive you, Kris. But as I explain in today's outdoors column, the occasional misery involved in tenting under the stars is worth the…
PUBLIC LANDS -- Forest Service officials say they are "re-engaging the public" on the Nez Perce National Forest travel plan through a series of public meetings before the final decision on the Designated Routes and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use is made later this summer.…
MARINE LIFE -- A toxic algae bloom that's unprecedented is range is affecting marine life from Central California toward Alaska. The invisible bloom produces a toxin called domoic acid that's already forced officials to close crab and razor clam fisheries. Now, its effects are spreading…
PUBLIC LANDS -- Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area has just announced a fire-season ban on all fires outside of designated campfire grates in developed campgrounds. Other fire and burning restrictions are spreading across Eastern Washington as fires have been breaking out about a month ahead…
THREATENED SPECIES -- Environmental groups say they filed a lawsuit today regarding the impacts a mine near Libby, Mont., would have on bull trout and grizzly bears in the Cabinet Mountains. The complaint challenges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision that the proposed Montanore…
PUBLIC LANDS -- Wilderness politics in Idaho is a fascinating process to watch: House committee hears testimony on Idaho wilderness bill At the House Resources Committee’s subcommittee on Public Lands hearing on Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson's proposed wilderness bill for lands in the Boulder-White Cloud…
FISHING -- Free fishing days are water under the bridge in Washington and Idaho, but Montana saves the occasion for the big event of the year for dads. Whether you cast a fly or bait a hook everyone can fish for free Saturday and Sunday,…
TRAILS -- Here's another example of why it's best to check ahead with land managers before launching out on a backcountry trek. On June 20, the Forest Service will temporarily close one of the bridges that access trails in the Rapid River drainage, a popular…
FISHING -- With salmon and steelhead fishing catching the attention of more and more participants, Idaho Fish and Game officials have prepared videos on angling etiquette that highlight ways to avoid some of the issues that spawn irritation and complaints. As Joe DuPont, Clearwater region…
WILDLIFE — A wildlife group is asking a federal judge to stop domestic sheep grazing that it says is a threat to wildlife on U.S. National Forest land in the Gravelly Mountains of southwest Montana. The Gallatin Wildlife Association claims the government’s authorization for the…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
| June 2015 | ||||
| 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 |
| 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 |
| 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 09 |
| 08 | 07 | 05 | 04 | 03 |
| 02 | 01 |
