FISHING – It’s a harbinger of spring, or perhaps a harbinger of spring chinook salmon fishing. An 18-pound lower river stock spring chinook was picked up in the lower Columbia commercial sturgeon fishery on Wednesday. The fish, checked by Oregon fisheries officials, is the first…
IDAHO RIVERS -- Applications to get coveted permits for floating the Selway, Snake, Middle Fork of the Salmon, or wild main Salmon rivers for this coming season must be submitted online by Jan. 31. The new shift by the Forest Service to online applications includes…
NATIONAL FORESTS -- Susan Shaw, a Forest Service manager of planning, lands and minerals in Tennessee, has been named the new district ranger for the Clearwater National Forest's Palouse Ranger District headquartered in Potlatch, Idaho. Shaw has worked for the agency in several locations as…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- A herd of more than 60 elk, mostly mature bulls, was photographed recently in Utah by a Uinta County Sheriff as he waited for the herd to cross the road ahead of him about 12 miles out of Evanston. Hunting season is…
WILDLIFE -- A helicopter's speedy pursuit and net capture of pronghorns in Nevada is captured on amateur video and posted on YouTube. If you think helicopter net gunning is child's play, you need to watch this. Click here for one video showing the intensity of…
NATIONAL PARKS -- Winter at Olyimpic National Park conjures up images of pounding surf on wilderness beaches. But many people don't realize the Western Washington park also offers stunning winter alpine beauty served by the plowed road to Hurricane Ridge. Bring your skis or snowshoes…
RIVERS -- Whether you're a paddler or a steelhead angler, you've probably heard of British Columbia's Skeena River. It's an iconic natural resource that's threatened, according to a documentary that will be playing in Spokane on Friday. "Awakening at the Skeena," a film by Andrew…
RIVERS – At a meeting today, officials from the City of Spokane Valley pledged to improve the boater access to the Spokane River at the site of the new Barker Road bridge. “The work will begin in March,” said Terry Miller of the Spokane Canoe…
PRO FISHING -- A Rathdrum man is the only angler from the West to qualify for the 2011 Bassmaster Classic – the Super Bowl of professional bass fishing – Feb. 18-20 at Bayou Segnette State Park in Louisiana. Brandon Palaniuk, 23, a member of the…
ICE FISHING -- This story out of the Muskegon (Mich.) News sort of dashed any romance I had about settling down in one of the traditional ice-fishing shacks that are so popular on the eastern half of the U.S. Turns out you have to be…
HUNTING SAFETY -- A 35-year-old eastern Idaho man who lost his right lung and most of the use of his right arm after being mistakenly shot during hunting season last fall is in the news for stating publically that he’s frustrated the shooter is facing…
OLYMPIA -- If the threat of getting snuffed out doesn't detract you from going for off-limits pow, maybe a stiff fine will do the trick. Skiers who venture into dangerous areas that are closed to the public could be fined up to $1,000 under a…
FISHING -- Frank Whitney holds up one of the reasons anglers might want to pursue kokanee at Lake Roosevelt Whitney caught this beefy 23-incher -- weighing 4 pounds, 3 ounces -- while fishing over the weekend out of Keller. His friend, Eldon Wagner, wasn't quite…
BOATING -- Get more bang for your buck by multitasking at the Spokane National Boat Show, which opens Friday and runs through Feb. 6 at Spokane Interstate Fair and Expo Center. The eight-hour America’s Boating Course, which satisfies Washington’s mandatory boater education requirements, will be…
OLYMPIA -- A bill has been introduced in the Washington Legislature that would, among other things, give loons and trumpeter swans some clout against a poacher's bank acount. When a Newport-area man senselessly killed a common loon at Yocum Lake a few years ago, Washington…
OLYMPIA -- Here' s a sampling of legislation of interest to sportsmen that's been introduced in the Washington Legislature and is up for major public hearings. It's a version reduced from a list being watched by the Fishing and Hunting Natural Resources Forum. SB 5201…
WINTER SPORTS -- The Panhandle Nordic Club's annual Rock Soup event is set for Saturday at Fourth of July Pass nordic trails Panhandle Hut. Although the snow is thin on the trails, there's plenty for skiing. "The ski up Skywalker from Skateway to Twisted Klister…
WATERFOWL -- These ducks are offering their free services as models to promote the effective qualities of down insulation as they hang out comfortably on the ice in below-zero conditions. Down is the lightest most compressible and efficient natural insulator for cold weather clothing. But…
OUTDOOR CHUCKLE -- As a trapper boarded the airplane, the flight attendant asked what he had in the bag over his shoulder. "It's a dead raccoon." "You can't bring a dead raccoon on the plane," the attendant said. "Sure I can. It's carrion."
WINTER SPORTS -- This has been a glorious and brilliant weekend for exploring the winter outdoors in the Inland Northwest, especially for snowshoers who absorb it all at a quiet pace that seems in step with the season. Ice shrouded everything on top of Star…
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy WILDLIFE -- Maybe it doesn't solve the case of 3,000 blackbirds that fell from the sky and died in Arkansas on New Years Day, but at least the people in South Dakota got…
ADVENTURE -- Historian and author Jack Nisbet of Spokane will give a slide presentation on "David Thompson among the Kalispel" this month in the cultural heart of the tribe's reservation. Although the Lewis and Clark Expedition had garnered much of the publicity a few years…
RIVERS -- Andy Dunau, Executive Director of the Spokane River Forum, will discuss the effort to develop the recreation potential of the Spokane River Water Trail in a meeting with the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club Monday, 7 p.m., at the Corbin Community Center, 827…
CLIMBING -- Arno Ilgner author of The Rock Warrior's Way will be in Spokane Tueday to present a free slide snow on mental fitness for athletes heading out to hang on the edge. The free program will beging at 7 p.m. at Mountain Gear, 2002…
WILDLIFE LEGISLATION -- A spokeswoman for an organization working on wolf, wildlife and wildland issues in Washington is panning a trio of Canis lupus-related bills introduced in Olympia last week, according to a report by Northwest Sportsman magazine. “They are spectacular in their awfulness and…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
