WATER SPORTS -- Campers and boaters must be aware of toxic alage warnings for a portion of Potholes reservoir and Lake Rufus Woods. The Washington Department of Health is warning people not to swim in Rufus Woods, but officials say the problems does not affect…
SALMON FISHING -- The return of sockeye salmon to Lake Wenatchee is not strong enough to allow a recreational fishery in the lake this year, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife just announced. Although more than 185,000 sockeye have passed Bonneville Dam this year,…
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission today voted to increase cougar hunting opportunities in six counties. Meeting via telephone, the commission amended cougar hunting regulations for a pilot project that authorizes cougar hunting with the aid of dogs. The project had expired…
ADVENTURE RACING -- The end is in sight, at least figuratively for competitors in Expedition Idaho, the 6-day adventure race -- 528 miles, 137,000 vertical feet – night and day through North Idaho. "After an unbelievable week, where at times, we never thought we could…
COLUMBIA RIVER -- The level of Lake Roosevelt was 1286 feet this morning. High pool is 1290. For the next week, the level of Lake Roosevelt is anticipated to continuing dropping gradually, the Bureau of Reclamation reports. The predicted level of the lake by the…
FISHING -- Record and near record steelhead catches from the Lower Columbia mainstem sport fishery last month have just been reported by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: New record steelhead harvest for the month of July. An estimated 8,549 steelhead were kept last month.…
Quote of the week: "There's a lot of people who support wolf recovery and wolves in Idaho, but I really believe that the pro-wolf part of Idaho has kind of shut up." Carter Niemeyer, who spent decades working as a wolf management specialist for the…
FLY FISHING -- High water and prolonged runoff fouled Montana fly fishing plans and forced cancelation of guided trips well into July this year. But that's history. Many experts say that setback should translate into sensational fall fishing. For an update, check out Swollen Rivers,…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- A five-year project has succeeded in returning the Western bluebird to Washington’s San Juan Islands. The bird had historically inhabited the islands, but changing land use practices and a paucity of nesting sites meant the species had not nested there for over…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
