Field Reports

CLIMBING

Idaho on the wall

Some hot-shot climbers and a swarm of local talent is expected to congregate Saturday for the third annual Palouse Climbing Competition, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the University of Idaho Student Recreation Center Climbing Wall.

“We expect some national-class climbers to be here,” said Matt Erlandson, UI Outdoor Program climbing coordinator.

Will Gadd, 35, a climber and athlete in several extreme sports, will present “Extreme Adventurer,” a free multi-media program, Saturday evening, 7:30 p.m., at the UI Law Building Courtroom.

Registration for the climbing competition will begin at 9 a.m. with various age and class divisions. A barbecue lunch is planned along with shoe and skill demos.

Gadd’s presentation is a notable highlight. While Gadd participates in numerous sports, including skiing and kayaking, “he absolutely sets the standard in not one, but two disciplines: ice climbing and paragliding,” Erlandson said.

“Gadd has won every major ice climbing title, from the World Cup to the Winter X Games. He’s established the hardest ice routes on the planet, too, and continues to discover and ascend ever more treacherous alpine walls.”

Gadd was the first person to paraglide across the United States, and he’s also the first person to set the world paragliding distance record twice, he said.

Info: (208) 885-6810.

Rich Landers

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Trail day at Sekani

The recently organized Fat Tire Trail Riders mountain biking club is organizing a trail cleanup and maintenance day at Camp Sekani next Saturday .

Volunteers are encouraged to wear sturdy shoes and bring work gloves to pick up trash and beautify the trails enjoyed by cyclists.

The work party orientation starts at 9 a.m. at the Camp Sekani County Park staging area off Upriver Drive west of Argonne St. Minors will need a parent present to sign a liability waiver.

The Fat Tire Trail Riders also are planning a workshop on April 30 at Camp Sekani for training volunteers in trail maintenance skills that will be used on various projects.

Info: Penny Schwyn, 448-0346 or www.fttrc.org.

Rich Landers

ICE AGE FLOODS

Tour floods’ impact

A May 7 field trip sponsored by the Cheney Palouse Chapter of the Ice Age Floods will explore the impact of the cataclysmic Missoula Floods on the land and cultures of the Pend Oreille Valley.

Experts will look at clues in the strange paths of present-day drainages.

Pre-registration is required for the bus tour. Cost: $35.

Info: Carol Schwartz at csssbd@earthlink.net or 448-0604 or Rhonda Elliott, at Rhonda@northstarequipment.com or 235-9200.

A free program on the great floods, which occurred around 17,000 years ago, will be presented at the chapter’s regular monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. on May 4 in Eastern Washington University Science Building Room 137 in Cheney. A campus map is available on the Web at www.ewu.edu/new/maptours/home.html.

Rich Landers

HUNTING

Henry rifle auctioned

Donald Grove, a gun collector from Dallas, Ore., paid $65,000 for an original 1860 Henry Rifle at an auction of a private firearm collection held recently in Billings, Mont.

The rifle was among more than 80 guns from the collection of Woody Hawkinson, who died in 1998. Other gun collectors from as far away as Belgium were on hand for the early April auction.

The gun featured a factory engraving in gold wash. The left side plate featured an engraved deer being chased by a dog.

Associated Press

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

CWD found in New York

Chronic wasting disease was discovered in a second captive deer in central New York, days after the deadly malady was first detected in the state, agricultural officials said April 2.

Both white-tailed deer had been part of captive herds east of Syracuse.

Chronic wasting disease — called CWD — is a degenerative neurological illness that is deadly to some deer and elk species. There is no evidence that CWD is harmful to humans or other domestic livestock.

The second confirmed case was discovered in a four- to five-year-old deer that died of pneumonia on its owner’s property two weeks ago. The deer was tested under mandatory state screening program.

The herd that yielded the initial positive, as well as six other captive herds that potentially came into contact with that herd, have been quarantined. Animals in the two herds with confirmed positives will be killed and tested for CWD.

Meanwhile, state environmental officials were testing wild deer in the largely rural county to determine if the disease has spread beyond captive animals.

Associated Press

HUNTING

Wyoming deer pressured

A group of hunters is petitioning the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to hold a limited-quota hunting season for Wyoming Range mule deer.

One hunter, Jack Hone, says too many hunters using general licenses has caused overhunting for the 30,000-animal herd, particularly in hunt areas near Kemmerer.

“With the expected population increases in southwest Wyoming due to the energy boom, limited quota licenses are essential in preventing the decimation of remaining mule deer herds,” Hone said. “The habitat in which these deer live is way to accessible now to allow general hunting permits any longer.”

The department’s goal is to have 50,000 mule deer in the Wyoming Range herd.

Associated Press