FISHING -- An update on the potential for reintroducing chinook to the Columbia River upstream from Chief Joseph will be presented Tuesday during the Northwest Power and Conservation Council meeting at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane. The council, which, in part, helps direct hydropower ratepayer...
WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT -- A retired fish and wildlife officer from Alaska has become the new chief of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police. Steve Bear stepped into the Washington position on Sept. 1. He had retired as Colonel for the Alaska Wildlife Troopers...
HUNTING -- Wildfires are likely to impact many hunters this year, but hunting seasons will not be closed, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials say. Sportsmen should monitor the federal Incident Information System -- InciWeb -- before heading to their hunting spots to make…
WILDLIFE -- Birds and critters can’t heed health agency warnings to take refuge indoors from the pall of wildfire smoke smothering the West. They’re stuck outside, coping with bad air quality much as they deal with weather extremes throughout the year. “Wildlife appears to be...
FISHING -- Here's an unexpected consequence of wildfires and smoke impacting the region: Only “essential” workers are allowed to be on the job at Bonneville Dam, and that does not include the fish counters. Consequently, as Columbia River fish managers and anglers are desperately trying...
RIVERS -- This year, in its first full summer season, more than 231,000 people floated the Deschutes River through the Bend, Oregon, Whitewater Park passageway channel on inner tubes, kayaks or paddleboards. The Bend Bulletin reports that’s roughly 2,200 floaters each day between May 15...
FISHING -- Anglers can keep all the trout they want for the next five weeks at five Eastern Washington lakes scheduled for rehabilitation this fall. Seasons have been extended and size and daily limits suspended for gamefish at three lakes in Stevens County and two…
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…
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...
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...
