HUNTING -- After 90 stitches patched him together, a bowhunter tells how his Montana elk hunt went downhill as he and his partner startled a grizzly bear feeding on a carcass. Here's the story from the Associated Press: HELENA, Mont. – A grizzly bear mauled…
STATE PARKS -- A plan to move the Mount Spokane State Park equipment maintenance shops to a 40-acre site safe from flooding will be presented at a public meeting a 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7, at the CenterPlace Regional Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery…
TRAILS -- A Seattle native and former Boston College cross-country runner has traversed the 2,190-mile (3,524-kilometer) Appalachian Trail in record time after a sleepless, 37-hour sprint to the top of Maine’s Mount Katahdin in gale-force winds, the Associated Press reports. Joe McConaughy, known on the...
WILD FIRES -- Hikers, camper and hunters planning backcountry trips have to be more than a little aware of the the fire situation that's plaguing the Northwest this month. I was packing for an extended trip in the Indian Heaven Wilderness near Mount Adams this...
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- The first wolf from the Sherman Pack was shot today in an effort to stop wolf attacks on cattle in Ferry County, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reports. The Sherman Pack was associated with a confirmed cattle kill on Colville...
TRAILS -- The Tekoa Trail and Trestle Association is devoting proceeds from its annual fundraiser this year toward restoration of the John Wayne Trail and its connection to the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. The Gala set for 6 p.m. on Sept. 9 at the...
HUNTING -- Forest grouse hunters can help wildlife biologists get a handle species that are remote and difficult to study by depositing wings of their birds in wing collection barrels stationed around Eastern Washington. Below are locations of wing barrel locations currently out in Region…
HUNTING -- With hunting seasons for deer, elk, upland game birds, waterfowl and other migratory birds getting underway this month, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has posted its annual online guide to hunting opportunities throughout the state. WDFW's Hunting Prospects report, available at...
Idaho big game hunters have been on a roll in recent years with a top-10, all-time deer harvest in 2016, an all-time record whitetail harvest in 2015, and a top-five, all-time elk harvest in 2015. Generally, good hunting will continue in 2017...
HUNTING -- Generally good upland bird numbers highlight the following Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department prospects report on 2017 hunting seasons for pheasant, grouse and partridge. Upland bird season starts today, Sept. 1, with mountain, sage and sharptail grouse along with partridge. Pheasant hunting…
HUNTING -- Montana's 2017 big-game hunting forecast was posted this week by the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department. Here it is. A key part of your hunting season preparation should be researching animal population trends and data from the past year. That’s where we…
PARKS -- Glacier National Park's historic Sperry Chalet was lost to the Sprage Fire today at about 6 p.m., park officials report. The main chalet building burned despite the efforts of a "highly skilled group of firefighters" staged at the remote chalet for the past...
BICYCLING -- Today is the last chance to preregister for the 10th annual SpokeFest -- Spokane's big Sept. 10 bicycle touring event -- and be elligible for the last of the weekly prize drawings. For 10 weeks, SpokeFest organizers have been giving away one item…
TRAILS -- The popular Mineral Ridge Trail overlooking Lake Coeur d'Alene's Wolf Lodge Bay and recreation area will be closed to all use on Wednesday, Sept. 6 as crews seal coat the parking area, U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials say....
NATURE -- When a Reader Outdoor Photo Gallery image posted this week raised a question of species identification, I solicited the expertise of "private eyes" in the regional birding community. The sweet photo above was snapped Sunday at Arbor Crest Winery by Courtney Litwin, but...
PADDLING -- Canoeing, kayaking and camping through Z Canyon on the Pend Oreille River downstream from Metaline Falls has been tough to pull off since July 10 when Seattle City Light closed the Boundary Dam forebay campground and boat launch for a major reconstruction project.…
RIVERS – Wild fish and conservation groups calling for removal of Snake River Dams are organizing the third annual Free the Snake Flotilla on Sept. 8-9 based out of Chief Timothy State Park at Clarkston, Washington. Sam Mace of Save our Wild Salmon said she...
WINTERSPORTS -- Snowmobiler who want to ride in Yellowstone National Park next winter without a guide can enter a lottery starting Friday for a limited number of permits. The park requires all non-commercially guided snowmobile groups that enter the park to have a permit. Sledders...
HUNTING -- The 2017 mourning dove hunting seasons open in Idaho and Eastern Washington on Friday, but hunters can warm up on a similar bird with the blessings of wildlife biologists. The Eurasian collared-dove is a fast-spreading exotic species that's unprotected in Washington and Idaho...
PUBLIC LANDS -- The Emerald Creek Garnet Area on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests near Clarkia won't be open for the Labor Day holiday weekend. The gem-gathering site will close for the season today, five days ahead of the scheduled Sept. 4 closure date, forest...
FISHING -- Anglers who catch chinook salmon on the upper Columbia River with a hole punched in the tail fin must release them, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The fish, which include wild and hatchery fall chinook, have been sedated with…
WILDLIFE -- For the first time in Washington, wildlife managers have found in deer a viral infection known as Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reports. Officials confirmed AHD, which can be deadly to deer, in a herd east of Goldendale…
WILDFIRES – A 50th anniversary public commemoration of the Sundance fire, which killed two firefighters in North Idaho, is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2, at a U.S. Forest Service bridge 13 miles up the Pack River Road from US 95 north of…
HUNTING -- Relief is in sight for archers and dove hunters who have been trying to sign up on Washington's online "hunt by reservation" system, which has been down for weeks. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials say the Hunt by Reservation system will…
STEWARDSHIP -- Come alone, with your family or with a group and join hundreds of people for the fun and satisfaction of sprucing up the river that runs through our city and our lives. "The Annual Spokane River Clean-Up is a great chance give back...
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.