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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Rich Landers

This individual is no longer an employee with The Spokesman-Review.

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Sports >  Outdoors

Veggies Save Trip

Boating Two Spokane Canoe and Kayak Clubbers offer food for thought to any boater who loses a drain plug. When Chris Jones lost the plug for his kayak during a tour, he was fortunate that companion Pierre Finch had not eaten all of his lunch, according to Eddylines, the club newsletter. Finch provided a carrot, which proved to be self-threading and an effective seal, enabling the kayakers to finish their tour. Try to do that with a sausage.
Sports >  Outdoors

Congress Poses A Serious Threat To Wildlife Areas

Congress has been getting away with murder as it guts laws that protect fish and wildlife. The Republican majority is inflicting the most hideous threat to fish and wildlife since the turn-of-the-century campaigns to wipe out bison and wolves. The riders these so-called conservatives are attaching to otherwise sound bills are as lethal as guns, traps and poison.
Sports >  Outdoors

British Columbia Woman Tells Reel-Life Regional Stories

Although several anthologies of fishing literature by women have received national attention, there's a sleeper book in our midst by a woman who's plied the waters along with other Inland Northwest anglers. "Reading the Water: Stories and Essays of Flyfishing and Life" by Mallory Burton (Keokee Co. Publishing of Sandpoint, $13.95) is coy, funny, profound, subtle, clever and 100 percent about fishing as it applies to life.
Sports >  Outdoors

Let There Be Light

Astronomy Hunters heading to duck blinds and skiers bent making the first tracks in new snow may have noticed a phenomenon that leaves most people in the dark. Since December 22, the daily amount of daylight has gradually been getting longer. But did you notice that while the sunset was slipping a few minutes later each week, the sunrise was occurring slightly later, too? The latest sunrise of the winter occurred Jan. 5, two weeks after the winter solstice. Finally, the dark winter mornings are getting brighter earlier.
Sports >  Outdoors

Teach Kids To Fish

Fishing A few good men and women are being sought by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department to teach basic fishing skills to youngsters. Volunteer fishing instructors should either be experienced anglers or skilled teachers, said Jim Byrd, department angler education program manager. Although fishing experience is helpful, materials are provided that allows teachers who are not anglers to educate kids about fish and fishing, he said.
Sports >  Outdoors

Join ‘Ski Fest’

Nordic skiing Free beginner and intermediate cross-country ski lessons will be offered as a part of the Ski Fest to be held simultaneously at 49 Degrees North and the Newport Geophysical trails next Sunday. Experienced instructors will teach cross-country techniques for beginners to skaters at the Geophysical trails, off the road that runs north of Newport on the east side of the Pend Oreille River. The lessons at 49 Degrees will be for beginners.
Sports >  Outdoors

Rendezvous Hut-To-Hut Ski Tour

Check it out Distance: 18 miles Difficulty: Moderate Skiing time: 2-1/2 days Season: December through March Maps: USGS Rendezvous Ski Lewis Butte. Also, Rendezvous Ski Trails available from Methow Valley Sports Trails Assoc. Info: Methow Valley Central Reservations, (800) 422-3048
Sports >  Outdoors

Ski Camp Sign-Up

Alpine skiing Sign-up continues for the annual Adult Ski Camp at Schweitzer Mountain Resort Jan. 5-7. The $150 fee ($100 is tax deductible) includes instruction for novice to expert skiers, plus receptions, drills, videotaping and a contribution to the Jimmie Heuga Center for multiple sclerosis and the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. Info: 838-4300 in Spokane.
Sports >  Outdoors

Join The Crowd

Environment The latest Washington population forecasts are not encouraging for people who enjoy wildlife and outdoor recreation, considering that development already is gobbling up about 30,000 acres of wildlife habitat in the state a year. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that 2.7 million more people will move to Washington by 2020. "That means building a community the size of Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater every 8-1/2 months for 26 years," said Bob Turner, state Fish and Wildlife Department director.
Sports >  Outdoors

Keeping Steelhead

Fishing Washington has followed Idaho's lead to drop emergency steelhead restrictions on the Snake River beginning Jan. 1. Since enough Clearwater River steelhead are arriving to meet egg-taking goals at Dworshak National Fish Hatchery, steelheaders will once again be allowed to keep hatchery steelhead over 30 inches long. Hatchery steelhead have a clipped adipose fin.
Sports >  Outdoors

Hordes Flock To Catch View

Wildlife watching is becoming big business. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the number of birdwatchers in the nation has grown from 10 million in the 1960s to more than 63 million in the early 1990s. A growing number of people are interested in other species, boosting sales of items such as guidebooks and binoculars.
Sports >  Outdoors

Walleye Tourneys Set

Fishing Walleye fishing tournaments were illegal in Washington just three years ago. Now they're on the verge of becoming a series. The number of walleye tournaments in the state will expand to four events next year, beginning with Big Wally's Spring Walleye Classic May 18-19 at Banks Lake.
Sports >  Outdoors

Where To See Wild Animals

1. (photo of bighorn sheep) Photos by Rich Landers/The Spokesman-Review 2. (photo of tundra swans) 3. (photo of mountain goat) 4. (photo of great blue heron) 5. (photo of an elk)
Sports >  Outdoors

Elk Hunting Faces More Regulation

Among Northwest elk hunting states, Washington was ahead of its time. Facing a serious decline in the number of bull elk in the Blue Mountains, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a controversial choose-your-weapons policy for elk hunting in 1984. The concept was to spread hunting pressure. Before buying a tag, hunters had to designate whether they would hunt with modern rifle, bow or muzzleloader, each of which had a different season.
Sports >  Outdoors

Christmas Counts Set

Bird-watching The region's bird-watchers are busy this month with various activities including the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The bird count was started 96 years ago and has spread to include clubs all over North America. Clubs organize groups that count birds on a day in December or early January. Each group covers an area 15 miles in diameter.
Sports >  Outdoors

Colville River Paddle Tour

Check it out Distance: 7 miles Difficulty: Moderately difficult Paddling time: 2-5 hours Season: Feb. through Dec. Maps: USGS Chewelah, Addy Info: USGS Water Resources Office in Spokane, 353-2633 Paddling trip notes
Sports >  Outdoors

Registered And Ready

Snowmobiling The late arrival of snow in the Inland Northwest at least has given procrastinators time to register their snowmobiles. In Idaho, $12.75 of each $16.50 registration is returned to a county designated by the snowmobiler. The county uses the funds for grooming and associated services. The vendor keeps $1.50 and $2.25 goes to printing and administration.
Sports >  Outdoors

Tunnel Project Stalled

Mountain biking Trail promoters are rallying interest among mountain bikers to write their congressmen for help in reactivating the stalled Taft Tunnel trail project The trail, also known as the Route of the Hiawatha, is a 20-mile route on an abandoned railway running from Lookout Pass to the North Fork of the St. Joe River.
Sports >  Outdoors

Bargain-Hunting In Alaska

After checking out the costs for a weeklong stay at a fly-in Alaska fishing lodge, I knew why they billed it the "trip of a lifetime." The CEO who manages our family budget said no way, not at $2,800 a visit. Forced to downscale my sporting plans, I learned to economize. I got to Alaska that summer with several fishing buddies, snug in a Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge cabin for $20 a night. Coastal cabins in Alaska are preferred by hunters seeking Sitka deer. Inland cabins situated on rivers in national forests and wildlife refuges are prime spots for tackling salmon, char and cutthroat trout, as well as photographing grizzly bears.