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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

2014 Outdoors: out & about

An elk shot during a hunting season near Vader, Wash., had hoof rot.

Elk hoof disease in 2014 continues to plague herds in Southwestern Washington, where a new law requires hunters to leave the hooves of elk where the animal is killed as a precaution. Meanwhile, a larger scientific effort continues to evaluate a mysterious disease that’s been crippling elk in an outbreak that started booming in 2009. Citizens are being recruited to help with monitoring elk for the research.

Boaters born prior to Jan. 1, 1955, required in Washington to complete a safety course in order to operate powerboats with 15 horsepower or greater, completing last phase of boater education law of 2005.

Ten boat-in camp sites developed on Lake Spokane by Avista.

Illia Dunes recreation site on the Snake River temporarily closed after 1,800 college partiers trash beach and water with broken bottles, beer cans and human waste.

Ski resorts across the country develop rules to confront boom of free-heel skiers and snowshoers who use plowed roads, facilities and groomed slopes without buying lift tickets.

Major moose studies pick up steam in Washington, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming and Montana.

376 fish illegally netted from Banks Lake by three men caught by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police; it’s the third major sportfish gillnetting bust of Eastern European groups in Grant County in three years.

Two skiers die from asphyxiation – one at Crystal Mountain Resort in Washington, and one in at Whitefish Mountain in Montana –after falling into treewells following deep powder snowfall events.

Weyerhaeuser requires hunters to buy a $150 permit to access 325,000 acres of timberlands in Southwest Washington where the forest products company had allowed free access for decades. Company officials said the fee is needed to curb excessive littering, damage and vandalism. Some hunters are outraged while others pay the fees and enjoyed hunting in the much-less-crowded mountains.

18 grizzly bears killed in encounters with hunters, landowners, cars or other human-caused situations in northcentral Montana’s Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem.

Lake Spokane gets first taste of hatchery trout as Avista pays for stocking 155,000 catchable-size sterile rainbows released in June.

Boater access site upgraded on the Spokane River at the state line.

After two dogs are killed in body-gripping traps, Idaho’s Fish and Game Commission dismisses proposals for trapping rule changes in favor of more emphasis on educating trappers and the public to coexist.

Tubbs Hill Trail at Coeur d’Alene upgraded.