Out & About

OUTFIELD

Another blow to sage grouse

Seemingly under attack from every angle, sage grouse may be plagued by another foe.

West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne virus that made its first U.S. appearance in 1999, was reported in sage grouse in 2002. Last year, Idaho and four other states reported sage grouse fatalities from the virus.

Corvids (ravens, crows, magpies) and raptors (eagles, hawks, owls) also are highly susceptible.

A recent forest fire southwest of Twin Falls destroyed about 75 sage grouse mating sites, a loss a wildlife manager termed “heartbreaking.”

However, of all the threats sage grouse face right now, West Nile is the worst because “it has the quickest impact and is the one we can do the least about,” said Daniel Gossett, wildlife biologist for the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes.

OUTGOING

Potlatch explores leases

Potlatch Corp. jolted Idaho recreationists this spring by starting a fee-for-access program on 600,000 acres in the St. Joe River drainage. For generations most people treated this corporate forest as though it was public land.

The next jolt appears to be coming later this year. The company is planning a pilot project to auction recreation leases on eight blocks of that Idaho land, said Matt Van Vleet, company spokesman.

The company already leases hunting and other recreation rights in other states, including all of its 300,000 acres in Minnesota.

OUTSTANDING

Panhandle bears fame

Almost a third of the Idaho’s black bear hunting success occurs in the Panhandle region.

The Priest Lake area is the epicenter of what’s bruin, with the highest black bear densities in the state.

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 Sept. 23

Today

4:40 p.m., 5:05 a.m.

Monday

5:30 p.m., 5:55 a.m.

Tuesday

6:20 p.m., 6:50 a.m.

* Wednesday

7:15 p.m., 7:40 a.m.

* Thursday

8:05 p.m., 8:35 a.m.

Friday

9 p.m., 9:30 a.m.

Saturday

9:55 p.m., 10:20 a.m.

Next Sunday

10:45 p.m., 11:20 a.m.

See the Hunting-Fishing Report every Friday in Sports