Michael Wright

Just after 9 a.m. on Wednesday, the chairlift slowed down. Jim van Loben Sels, the general manager of the Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park, and another staffer stretched a "First Chair" banner across the off-ramp for the lift. Seconds later, the first two skiers of the year left their chairs and grabbed the banner, posed for a quick photo and skied off. With that, the season at Spokane's local ski hill officially began. Two by two, more skiers and snowboarders followed, turning right or left to make their first runs of the season.

About a dozen people stood in a pool at the Spokane Hatchery on Monday, sifting through a couple of thousand female rainbow trout.

The chairlifts have started spinning.

Carrie Hugo has an eagle eye.

The impact of outdoor recreation on the national economy expanded again last year, showing that the industry is big business.

A coalition of environmental groups is urging the governor of Washington to overturn the state wildlife commission’s rejection of a petition seeking strict rules that limit wolf killing.

More than 400 Washington hunters have submitted elk or deer samples to be tested for a deadly disease this year.

Every year is different.

Thousands of people have weighed in on the federal government’s latest proposal to bring grizzly bears back to the North Cascades.

KETTLE FALLS, Wash. – Standing at one end of a folding table, Derick Largin handled a small white sturgeon carefully, checking its back for a tag. Then he measured it, from snout to tail.

Washington officials are considering a suite of 20 land acquisitions next month that they say will enhance public access and conservation.

The cougar wasn’t far away when Bart George started walking a trail at Riverside State Park on Tuesday.

Federal officials have closed a popular rockhounding location in northeastern Washington because of the damage caused by years of illegal digging.

HELLS CANYON, Idaho – The hill looked too steep.

Washington’s state parks have a new website.

A coalition of environmental groups is urging Washington to undo some recent changes to cougar and black bear hunting rules, arguing the tweaks have led to too many of the animals being killed.

Jule Schultz saw something in a tree on the edge of the Spokane River across from People’s Park.

A disease that has mangled the hooves of elk in western Washington and other parts of the country is affecting more than just the animals’ feet, according to a new study from Washington State University.

Thirty-seven years ago, Tim Christie pulled over in Glacier National Park to make a sandwich.

The moon will get in the way of the sun on Saturday, creating an annular solar eclipse that will disrupt sunlight for a few minutes that morning.

NORDMAN, Idaho – At the edge of an expansive meadow here, just far enough into the forest to make the highway invisible, there’s an old log barn that isn’t much of a barn anymore.

Alexandra Davis knew there was a bear snooping around her yard, busting up her fence and getting into her chicken feed.

Mobile licensing for hunters and anglers appears to be on its way to Washington.

A remote-controlled grizzly and an industrial cider press are teaming up this weekend in an effort to teach people the basics of living with bears.