PREDATORS -- While Washington is dealing forcefully with a cattle-attacking wolf pack this month, the situation also is contentious elsewhere. Federal officials say the number of conflicts between wolves and livestock in Wyoming is up sharply, exceeding the number of wolves that were killed last…
SHOOTING – The Spokane Junior Rifle Team, which has produced several world-class shooters since it was founded 50 years ago, will hold an open house for prospective members on Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Spokane Rifle Club’s indoor range along the Spokane River. “Many Spokane...
HUNTING -- Hunters who applied in Idaho's second controlled hunt drawing for elk, deer, pronghorn, and fall black bear can check online to see whether they were successful in the recent computerized drawing. Results are available on the Idaho Fish and Game website. Applicants can…
FISHERIES -- Closures on a 183-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River and hundreds of miles of other waterways could continue for months while biologists try to prevent the spread of a parasite believed to have killed tens of thousands of fish. The closures will remain…
WILDFIRES -- Due to the Hart Road Fire burning north of Davenport, Porcupine Bay campground, day-use and boat launch has been closed until further notice, according to a release by the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. All visitors to Porcupine Bay Campground and Day-use...
PUBLIC LANDS –The National Park Service is celebrating its 100th anniversary this week with special events across the country and free admission to all 412 national parks from Thursday through next Sunday, Aug. 25-28. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will be visiting parks from coast to…
WILDERNESS -- Grandfathered at the time the Salmo-Priest Wilderness was designated, the Little Snowy Top Lookout is a piece of history and a rare shelter in a storm for a wilderness traveler. But some buttheads are trashing it. It sickens me to think that people...
HUNTING – A hunter from Texas has won Idaho’s coveted super hunt combo that allows widespread access to hunting elk, deer, pronghorn and moose, Fish and Game Department officials say. Hunters purchase lottery tickets for the four species and the combo hunt. Two drawings are...
FISHING – The Snake River will open for the harvest of fall chinook salmon Sept. 1-Oct. 31, the Washington Department of Fish Wildlife announced Wednesday. Open areas include: The Columbia River from the railroad bridge between Burbank and Kennewick upstream approximately 2.1 miles to the...
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- The Profanity Wolf Pack has been sentenced to extermination after resuming attacks on cattle this week, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department announced tonight. State wildlife biologists received authorization to remove the Ferry County wolf pack after investigating two calf carcasses and...
FISHING -- Last year's warm water and low flows may be haunting steelheaders in the Snake River system this season. Here's an update from Eric Barker of the Lewiston Tribune: Fishing for the normally reliable run of steelhead that return to the Snake, Salmon and...
RIVERS -- In an unprecedented move prompted by a fish kill, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is closing the Yellowstone River from Gardiner to Laurel to all water-based recreation — fishing, wading, floating, tubing, boating. This section includes Paradise Valley and prized guiding and fly...
BICYCLING --Evergreen East mountain biking group is offering three courses in September, including kid’s mountain bike skils, introduction to freeride and mountain biking techniques for women. Certified coaches can help both novices and experienced riders improve their skills, said Penny Schwin, club spokeswoman. Details are...
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- State wildlife managers have ended their mission to reduce the number of wolves in a cattle-killing pack in Ferry County after about two weeks of effort and no further attacks on livestock. However, the lethal removal operation will restart if another wolf…
WILDLIFE -- Mountain goats and hikers are coming into dangerously close proximity at Heart Lake in the Bitterroot Mountains. The goats near the popular backpacking destination south of Superior, Montana, have given up the safety of the stateline cliffs, lured by salts and foods around…
FISHING -- Smallmouth bass seem to be pioneering into the lower Deschutes River to compete with its legendary summer steelhead runs. Bill Monroe reports in Oregon Live that fisheries biologists became concerned a few years ago, especially after steelhead fishing guide Bob Toman snapped a...
CAMPING -- Don't plan on a campfire in many public areas for the rest of the month. Prolonged heat and dry weather has most public land agencies issuing restrictions on fires. Citing extreme conditions, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area officials have announced that starting Friday,…
FISHING -- There's not much to report since the Columbia River from McNary Dam upstream to U.S. 395 opened for the harvest of hatchery steelhead on June 16. "The fishery has been very slow for effort and harvest over the past two weeks," said Paul…
PUBLIC LANDS -- "As recreation like mountain biking becomes ever more popular on public lands, federal agencies such as the BLM are being prodded to supply more access," says a story by High Country News. "To meet the needs of communities and quell illegal trail…
PREDATORS -- Alaska wolf advocates unhappy with state-authorized hunting and trapping for wolves around the borders of Denali National Park are stepping their protests up the line to the governor. This tactic has been used elsewhere by wildlife advocates on other issues, including lethal wolf…
WILDLIFE -- Wildfires are scary and sometimes destructive, but in the end, they can be good for elk habitat. Fourteen years after a fire burned in the East Fork of the Bitterroot River drainage, a 2014 study found elk in that area had had better...
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- Northeastern Washington politicians apparently see the state's mission to cull a portion of the cattle-killing Profanity Peak wolf pack as another way to get votes by slamming government agencies. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials are addressing the volatile issue of...
MARINE SCIENCE -- Researchers are using a boat-mounted webcam to let the world in on their monitoring of some 3,000 beluga whales during their annual congregation in western Hudson Bay. The scientists are banking on the watchful eyes of thousands of viewers to help them...
NATURE -- Vandalism to a man-made water feature is merely a costly pain in the butt to the owner. Vandalism at a waterfall and generally wild water feature at Mirabeau Park is a crime against nature. "Low lives dumped soap in pond," says Dave Gay…
TRAILS – A two-mile northwest extension of the Spokane River Centennial Trail will be dedicated with a 4 p.m. ribbon cutting ceremony today at the Nine Mile Recreation Area on Lake Spokane, 11226, W. Charles Rd., Nine Mile Falls. (See directions) The extension lengthens the…
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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