In brief: Two Mouth Lakes trail closed

HIKING – A scenic spot in the Selkirks will be hard to reach this summer.

Two Mouth Lakes Trail 268 in the Bonners Ferry Ranger District was closed on June 13 through the end of September, the Idaho Panhandle National Forests said. Officials cite safety concerns related to roadwork and logging activities that Hancock Forest Management is conducting on its property bordering the national forest.

The trailhead and the first 1 1/2 miles of road and trail are on Hancock’s property before the trail heads into the Bonners Ferry Ranger District.

The trail (Trip 46 in 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest) runs through the logging units and log trucks will be hauling on the road making it unsafe for travel, forest officials say.

Carp removal study curbed

FISHERIES – A pilot project to study use of gillnets and electroshocking to remove carp from Lake Spokane was called off last week after just a few days.

The carp weren’t making themselves available in sufficient numbers and the crews from Avista and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife considered it a waste of money to continue the effort for now, said Mary Tyrie, Avista spokeswoman.

Carp had been implanted with radio transmitters in 2014 and studied to get an idea on the ideal timing for mass removal to improve water quality in the reservoir behind Long Lake Dam.

This year, however, the record warm weather in April increased water temperatures, stimulated weed growth and apparently prompted the carp to spawn earlier than normal, Tyrie said.

It’s back to the drawing board for carp removal, she said.

Grizzly bear committee meets

ENDANGERED SPECIES –The multi-agency committee responsible for coordinating the recovery of grizzly bears in the continental United States and adjacent Canadian Provinces is meeting this week in the heart of the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak recovery areas this month.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee’s 2016 summer meeting started on Wednesday and concludes Thursday at the Kootenai River Lodge in Bonners Ferry.

The IGBC, created in 1983, has no regulatory authority. Rather, it coordinates government resources from agencies with a wide scope of missions to ensure recovery of the grizzly bear.

Recovery efforts are focused on six ecosystems that were identified when the grizzly was listed in 1975 as a Threatened Species under Endangered Species Act protections.

Agenda topics include discussion of the North Cascades Grizzly Recovery Area draft Environmental Impact Statement, which is scheduled for release this fall.

The public is invited to attend the IGBC meeting and a time slot has been set aside at the end of each day for public comment.