WILDERNESS -- A coalition of conservation groups has objected to a mining company’s request for a state water right permit for the proposed Rock Creek Mine on the Kootenai National Forest. According to a news release from Earthjustice, the permit would allow the mine to...
RIVERS -- A "Free the Snake" flotilla of boaters launched on the Snake River Saturday calling for the removal of four dams on the lower Snake to help improve salmon and steelhead habitat. The rally was staged out of Clarkston. The second annual event included...
PUBLIC LANDS -- Volunteers are needed for a work party at Blue Creek Bay Recreation Area east of Coeur d'Alene on Thursday, Sept. 22, to celebrate National Public Lands Day. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is organizing the service project for planting trees and…
TRAILS – The Friends of the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness are trying to round up a big turnout to finish re-routing the popular Scotchman Peak Trail #65 northeast of Lake Pend Oreille. The group is organizing volunteers to add switchbacks and avoid a steep and badly…
NIGHT SKY -- Sneaking about Priest Lake was difficult tonight, like trying to mess around under a spotlight. Thanks to Pecky Cox for the dreamy photo "Over the Selkirks" from the North Idaho gem, snapped at 7:31 p.m.
HUNTING/FISHING -- Active Network, the Texas-based company that owns and operates hunting and fishing license systems for several states, is offering identity theft services to license buyers whose personal information may have been compromised by a hacker's attempt last month to access the online license…
HUNTING -- As he was heading out last week for the opening of archery elk season, a bowhunter sent me the photo above from his pre-season scouting. His game cam was posted over a wallow when it snapped the photo in August. Note his tree...
FISHING -- Fall chinook harvest in the Hanford Reach area picked up this past week with boats averaging just over a half a chinook per boat, according to Paul Hoffarth of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. "Best fishing was in the Vernita area...
FISHING -- A two-hour class, Fly Fishing for Steelhead, by fishing guide Sean Visintainer is set for 6 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Silver Bow Fly Shop in Spokane Valley. Cost is $20. "Despite low steelhead counts so far, we have had some reports of...
TRAILS -- A short section of Forest Trail 162 on the Priest Lake Ranger District was closed this week because of increased fire activity. The 150-acre Gleason fire is approaching Trail 162, which is located on the west end of Squaw Valley, said District Ranger…
PUBLIC LANDS -- The potential for destructive wildfires continues in September, and the region's U.S. Bureau of Land Management areas are especially vulnerable because of their lower elevations. Shooters are being targeted for education about their role in causing wildfires. Of the 13 fires west...
FISHING -- Nature had a plan for providing steelhead runs that migrate hundreds of miles inland from the ocean. Idaho Fish and Game Department fisheries biologist Brett Bowersox spells it out: Steelhead fisheries in Idaho are world class, and the fact that anglers can fish...
The current two hatchery steelhead daily limit upstream of McNary Dam on the Columbia River has been reduced to one hatchery steelhead effective Thursday through Dec. 31, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced in a release.
HUNTING – Authorities say a 52-year-old bow hunter from Tillamook has been arrested on a criminal negligent homicide charge after fatally shooting his hunting partner south of Bend. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Michael Pekarek called 911 Monday morning…
HUNTING -- The rights of Sinixt (Arrow Lakes) Colville Tribal members to hunt in their traditional territory in Canada will be tested in a trial set to start on Monday Sep. 19, in the Provincial Court of British Columbia. Here's information from the Colville Confederated...
HUNTING -- Note to nimrods picking an elk hunting partner: There's no better choice that one who will personally deliver for a special occasion a home-grown watermelon, a bottle of homemade wine and the most precious and tender elk tenderloin a forest can grow. He…
HUNTING -- Youngsters are invited to sign up for two special clinics, one on pheasant hunting, the other on steelhead fishing, coming up next month and sponsored by the Idaho Fish and Game Department. Click links for details. Youth Pheasant Clinic - Oct. 1st near…
WILDLIFE -- The bodies of bull moose have been preparing all year for this season. After dropping their antlers during winter or spring, they've been sprouting new sets from their heads. A big bull's antlers involve some of the most rapidly developing tissue on any…
PUBLIC LANDS -- People with a special interest in North Idaho national forests are invited to sit in on the Panhandle Forest Collaborative. The next meeting will be noon to 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 14 at the Bonner County Administration Building, 1st Floor Conference Room,...
Monthly programs back after summer break CLUBS – After a summer hiatus, Inland Northwest outdoors groups are reviving monthly free programs. Among this week’s offerings are: Bicycle touring basics and cyclocross, two program, 6:30, Monday at 6021 E. Mansfield, Spokane, for Spokane Bicycle Club. Lewis,…
FISHING -- Ranger, my six-month-old Brittany pup, enjoyed his first full day of fly fishing at Cutthroat Creek. Trip report: Bugs were hatching and fish were surface feeding starting around 3 p.m. But having a puppy along on the stream greatly increases a trout's chances...
FISHING -- Through October, anglers are required to release chinook salmon that had been sedated for research and marked with a ¼-inch round hole punched in the upper lobe of the tail fin. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says fall chinook salmon are...
CLIMBING -- Two days of mountaineering speakers, climbing gear deals and entertainment are being organized for the annual Rainier Mountain Festival Sept. 17-18 at Ashford, Washington, to mark the end of the Mount Rainier guided climbing season. The event includes live music on Friday and…
PUBLIC LANDS -- Starting at midnight, Lake Roosevelt officials will close a long stretch of land along the reservoir's shores impacted by the Hart Road Fire, which started on Aug. 21. The fire burned 585 acres of federal land along the Spokane River within Lake...
FISHING – Anglers claimed more than 340 prizes after catching tagged hatchery-raised trout during the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s first annual statewide fishing derby, the agency says. The derby ran from April 23 through Sept. 6, with more than 130 license dealers donating…
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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