Out & About

OUTCAST

Montana’s local wisdom

Dave Dickenson, 34, of the Canadian Football League and former All-America quarterback, said it was good to be back in his home town when he returned to Missoula recently to keynote a sports awards banquet.

“I knew I was in Montana when I drove through Lincoln on my way here and I looked out the window and saw a high school P.E. class,” he said. “They were outside practicing their fly rod casting.”

OUTFLUTTERED

Planting for butterflies

What: Free program, “Butterflies of Northeastern Washington and North Idaho, and the Plants They Need.”

Who: By Carol Mack, WSU educator for Ponderay County Extension.

When: Monday, 7 p.m.

Where: Coeur d’Alene Audubon meeting, First Presbyterian Church, 521 E. Lakeside, Coeur d’Alene.

OUTPOOL

Signs of summer: lake levels rising

Dam-controlled lakes in the Inland northwest are being allowed to absorb spring runoff and rise to summer recreation levels.

Lake Pend Oreille, controlled by Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District at Albeni Falls Dam, is at about 2,059 feet above sea level and headed to 2,062 by the end of June.

Lake Roosevelt, controlled by the Bureau of Reclamation at Grand Coulee Dam, has turned the corner on major downward dips. Expect mild midweek drops, but otherwise a fairly steady ride from about 1,255 currently to 1,290 by July.

Lake Coeur d’Alene, controlled by Avista Utilities at Post Falls Dam, is about a foot shy but creeping up to normal summer pool of 2,128 feet.

OUTPICK

Mushroomers restricted

Free mushroom picking for personal use is allowed on the Clearwater National Forest with the exceptions of six areas on the North Fork District designated for commercial harvesters.

Mushrooms tend to have their largest crop the year after a fire.

Fires burned in the six areas last summer making prime conditions for which commercial pickers must pay a fee to access without public competition.

However, the 2006 Bar Creek Fire area, a few miles east of Canyon Work Center along the North Fork Clearwater River, is open to public-use picking.

The Methow region is another mushrooming hot spot following last year’s Tripod fires. However, starting May 28 for about eight days, some areas will be restricted as aircraft will be heli-mulching seeded forest areas.

OUTLOOK

Best fishing times

Lunar tables from the U.S. Naval Observatory. Be fishing at least one hour before and one hour after peak times. Applies to all time zones.

(* indicates best days.)

Through May 27

Today: 5 p.m., 5:25 a.m.

* Monday: 5:55 p.m., 5:20 a.m.

* Tuesday: 6:45 p.m., 7:05 a.m.

Wednesday: 7:25 p.m., 7:45 a.m.

Thursday: 8:05 p.m., 8:25 a.m.

* Friday: 8:45 p.m., 9:05 a.m.

* Saturday: 9:25 p.m., 9:45 a.m.

Next Sunday: 10:05 p.m., 10:25 a.m.

See the Hunting-Fishing Report

every Friday in Sports