It’s a jungle out there in the world of public process for designating new wilderness areas. A fall series of six public meetings dealing with wilderness proposals for the Colville National Forest has left officials sorting through a tangle of comments.
After eight years of discussion and study, officials at the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge have authorized hunting for the first time since the refuge was established in 1937.
Like a snowshoe hare that turns white before snow covers the ground, America’s public lands have been especially vulnerable this fall. Record-high fuel prices are etched in our memories. The economy is in a shambles.
With the economy leaking faster than my old patched chest waders, I’ve developed a stimulus plan for my own plummeting net worth by aiming my life experience and entrepreneurial prowess at America’s only prospering industry – guns. A red tide of communists invading from the Pacific and the Atlantic couldn’t have spiked U.S. gun sales any steeper or higher than the election of Barack Obama.
Hunting may be authorized within the boundaries of Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge next year for the first time since the refuge was established, primarily for migratory birds, in 1937. After eight years of discussion and study, Turnbull officials on Monday released a draft 2009 hunting plan for public comment. The plan calls for:
Trout anglers wondering what it might be like to cast into a fish hatchery full of lunkers can quit dreaming and start catching. North Central Washington’s Lake Rufus Woods has been even better than a hatchery.
Picture windows that enable us to enjoy nature from the comfort of our homes can be deadly to the birds we love to watch. And that’s putting it mildly. Ornithologists estimate that in North America alone, 100 million to 1 billion birds a year are killed in collisions with windows or towers, said Laura Erickson, science editor for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Hunting and fishing rules can be so complicated, even game wardens pucker up when they travel to hunt or fish under another state’s regulations. “I was a little nervous and unsure of myself on several occasions,” said Craig Walker, an Idaho Fish and Game Department conservation officer, recalling his recent pronghorn hunting trip to Montana.
Sweet dreams are bruin in the mountains as the region’s bears start scoping out places for their winter dens. Bears really have only two seasons a year: hibernation’s coming and hibernation’s here, said Kim Annis, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear biologist in Libby.
Gerry Copeland broke with convention during his summer vacation along the edge of the Himalaya. He didn’t relax on the 21-day trek away from roads and motorized vehicles. He pushed his body one footstep at a time to new heights over 16,000-foot passes.
“Personal responsibility” is a buzz phrase that can be tapped to bolster nearly any point of view. Regardless of whether you’re for or against something as hotly debated as new taxes, you can start with “personal responsibility” to make your case. While everybody seems to nod at this phrase as it’s preached from church pews to political campaign stumps, the results come up short.
No law prevented Mike Weaver from evicting the messy tenants in his home along the Spokane River. But even though they wanted to remodel and make use of the attic in their classic old home for their own expanding family, the Weavers voluntarily accepted the good-landlord challenge of relocating about 10,000 bats.
This weekend will offer the last best shot at fishing 2008’s exceptional run of huge fall chinook salmon on the Columbia River’s Hanford Reach. The kings are stacked in the fabled 50 miles of free-flowing river below Priest Rapids Dam, and they’ll be bending fishing rods through October – but don’t wait too long.
What do you want to see at Lake Roosevelt in the future? Managers for the national recreation area say they are getting a better understanding of public sentiment about the 154-mile Columbia River Reservoir after asking that initial question at four public meetings this month from Spokane to Colville.
Some fishermen always seem to be looking for an angle – a way to get one up on the next guy, or better yet, a stab at getting one up on the law. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Department gave these connivers an inch in the 2008 Fishing Regulations pamphlets, and a few of them are trying to take a mile.
The crowds will be withdrawing from the mountains today, leaving a colorful and solitary experience for a hiker heading into autumn on forest trails. Wise hikers wear bright clothing in fall, including cheap fluorescent orange caps or vests. But hunting seasons that opened this week shouldn’t deter hikers from the blazes of color – scarlet huckleberry bushes, yellowing larch – that peak around early October.
The next time the seduction of the Internet tries to lure you away from buying outdoor gear locally, consider this story of home-grown customer service beyond the call of duty. The recent incident involves a local fly fisherman with a cool-sounding name – one worthy of being a trademark. However, since he prefers to remain anonymous, I’ll refer to him as Fabio Gonzalez.
My father might have flinched at being called an environmentalist, although he would have been proud to be cited as a conscientious sportsman. That’s funny, when you think about it, because there’s little difference between the two.
In the realm of delicious activities conducted after dark with a fishing rod, one obscure sport is leaps and bounds above the rest. Bullfrogging is a fully sanctioned “green” activity, endorsed by wildlife authorities to curb a non-native bully that’s wreaking havoc on native species in Northwest lakes and ponds.
A glaring void in the region’s outdoors information scene is opening today with the closing of Fishing & Hunting News. The bi-weekly sportsmen’s tabloid featuring a lucky hunter or angler on every cover is ending 58 years of publication with its Aug. 7 issue.
Booking a float trip with a qualified guide on the Spokane River is one of the best recreation bargains around. Travel is minimal – city folks can ride a bike to the put-in for some trips. Guide costs range from free to as low as $45-$60 a person, with all sorts of group discounts and options that can be explored on company Web sites. Five commercial outfitters – a record number – operate on the Spokane River this year, offering services ranging from evening trips that include wine-tasting or dinner to a simple half-day trip for cooling off on a summer day.
While Clark Fork River flows have subsided and fishing success has suddenly gone wild this week, researchers monitoring the Montana trout stream are documenting a rosy future for fisheries after the March 28 breaching of Milltown Dam. For the first time in 100 years, Clark Fork fish downstream from Missoula have been tracked moving upstream this spring to explore spawning areas in the tributaries of the Blackfoot River and Rock Creek.
When the urge strikes to stretch the legs, Inland Northwest families never have far to go to find a good trail. Spokane and Coeur d’Alene have idyllic escape routes rife with native flora and fauna and suitable for hikers of all ages. Following are two examples to try if you haven’t – and to revisit if you have.
Although area rivers are still high with runoff, this weekend will be the perfect time to take family fishing at area lakes and ponds. Trout will be stocked and volunteers will provide help and gear, if needed, during free fishing events for children at 10 sites in Idaho and at least one in northeastern Washington.
