Field Reports: Prescribed burns planned near Spokane, Colville

Wildlife officials are planning a series of prescribed burns on state lands in Ferry and Pend Oreille counties this spring.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Tuesday that it was planning burns north of Spokane and west of Colville on portions of the Sherman Creek Wildlife Area.

About 150 acres are slated for burning at the Rustler’s Gulch unit, about 20 miles northeast of Spokane. At the Sherman Creek unit, the agency plans to burn about 350 acres.

The agency plans to conduct the burns before the end of the spring season. The work is dependent of weather, the agency said in a news release.

WDFW uses prescribed fire to reduce the severity of future wildfires and to improve wildlife habitat.

“We can create and maintain wildlife habitat on these valuable ecosystems through low-to-moderate intensity fires, often after other forest management work has reduced fire fuel levels,” said Rob Lionberger, statewide prescribed fire planner for WDFW. “Prescribed fire can rejuvenate important plant species, including native grass and brush species favored by deer, elk and moose. It also provides the added benefits of improved ecosystem health and resiliency and improved access for recreationists and hunters.”

Signs will be posted ahead of the fires, according to the release.

Fly Fishing Film Tour comes to Spokane

Another batch of fly fishing films is coming to the big screen in Spokane.

The Fly Fishing Film Tour will be in downtown Spokane at the Bing Crosby Theater on Tuesday.

The event showcases a series of fishing films from all over the world. There’s steelhead fishing in Oregon, trout fishing in Japan, bass fishing in the Midwest and flats fishing in the Bahamas.

The show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are available on the Bing Crosby Theater’s website at bingcrosbytheater.com/.

The tour is also being shown in Sandpoint on Friday at the Panida Theater.

Turnbull looks for volunteers for restoration projects

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is looking for volunteers to help pot and plant trees at the Turnbull National Widlife Refuge near Cheney.

Beginning on April 8, the refuge will host single-day tree potting sessions where volunteers will help pot native plants like aspen, hawthorn and cottonwood trees, according to a news release.

Once the trees are rooted, they’ll be used in habitat restoration projects on and off the refuge. Plantings typically happen in the fall.

Thousands of trees have been planted across Spokane County as part of this project over the past decade.

The project is led by the Fish and Wildlife Service in conjunction with the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program.

For more information about volunteering at Turnbull, contact Ranger Josh, the visitor services manager, at joshua_contois@fws.gov or 509-559-3034.