HUNTING – Friday, April 3, is the deadline to apply for one of 25 disabled hunter vehicle access permits to access otherwise gated areas on Inland Empire Paper Company lands. Permits will be distributed in a lottery drawing. Applications are available through the Inland Northwest...
CYCLING --Today is the last day for very fit bicyclists to enter the lottery to become one of the 800 riders allowed to enter the annual RAMROD on July 30. The Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day, a premiere ultra-marathon cycling event by the…
MARINE MAMMALS -- The endangered population of killer whales that spend time in Washington state waters is experiencing a baby boom with a fourth calf orca documented this winter. The newborn was spotted Monday by whale-watching crews and a naturalist in the waters of British…
BOATING -- With about $69 million in repairs to a cracked spillway completed at Wanapum Dam, water levels on the Columbia River reservoir are being brought up to normal levels and boat ramps are being readied to use for the first time in more than...
Bicyclists can relax until spring before planning most of their 2015 cycling season. But the following popular spring and summer rides come and go before you know it or sell out so quickly you have to be planning and making your application in February...
TRAILS -- 'The Bluff: Wildlife Nirvana, Crossroads or Death Trap?' -- That's the title of the keynote address planned for the annual public meeting of the Friends of the (South Hill) Bluff on Tuesday, (March 31) 6:30 p.m. at St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 5720 S.…
TRAILS -- A popular trail to an overlook near the confluence of the Spokane and Little Spokane rivers got more TLC last weekend. Volunteers organized by the Washington Trails Association put in 280 hours of effort that included building a spur to an outcropping viewpoint,…
WINTERSPORTS -- As lift-assisted skiing resorts struggle, more skiers and splitboarders may be taking off on their own. USFS predicts backcountry skiing to increase 106% over next 3 decades The National Ski Area Association reports that skier visits to resorts are down about 10 percent…
WILDLIFE -- A meeting to enlist volunteers in curbing the growth of wild turkey flocks on the Manito Park area is set for 6:30 p.m. tonight (March 30) at Spokane’s South Hill Library. Candace Bennett, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department conflict specialist, is organizing a…
TRAILS -- The outdoor and indoor activities planned for the Opening Day for Trails celebration Saturday in the Spokane area connected a lot of people with outdoor groups and trails in the region. Participation in the 3 bike tours and 8 guided hikes was good…
PUBLIC LANDS -- The Cabinet Mountains Wilderness -- among the first areas protected by the 1964 Wilderness Act -- is another step closer to potential impacts from mining. USFS gives preliminary OK to copper, silver mine in NW Montana The U.S. Forest Service will take…
TRAILS -- Three bike rides and eight hikes coordinated by the Inland Northwest Trails Coalition are being led on Saturday in the Spokane area -- one near Reardan -- by local trails-related groups and they're inviting you to join them. Check out details about the...
FISHING -- The Colville Tribe released 10,000 triploid rainbow trout weighing about 2 pounds each in Lake Rufus Woods on Thursday, making the reservoir between Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams a likely hot spot for anglers this weekend...
WINTERSPORTS -- They fought the good fight, but this strange winter is winning. Schweitzer Mountain and Silver Mountain ski resort swill close for the season after the end of operations on Sunday, officials announced today. The resorts normally are open at least through spring break.…
WINTERSPORTS -- They fought the good fight, but this strange winter is winning. Schweitzer Mountain Resort and Silver Mount will close for the season after the end of operations on Sunday, officials announced today. See story.
MOUNTAINEERING -- Sen. Robert Kennedy never bragged about being the first man to reach the summit of Canada's Mount Kennedy with Jim Whitakker 50 years ago this week. He said he was humbled by the experience. Two weeks after the climb, in an April 9,...
CLIMBING -- A portion of the China Bend climbing area has been closed to protect nesting raptors, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area officials announced Wednesday. The closure shuts down an area upstream from Kettle Falls to all public use until July 15. The area includes...
HUNTING -- Spring wild turkey hunting seasons are knocking on the door. All of the rules for Idaho and Washington are in pamphlets at license dealers or online. Check them out before your hunt. Washington's youth-only season for hunters under age 16 is April 4-5....
FISHING -- Steelhead and whitefish seasons will close on the upper Columbia River and tributaries on March 31 to protect steelhead spawning, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department said announed Wednesday. The closure affects the mainstem Columbia from Rock Island Dam upstream to Chief Joseph…
FISHING -- The International Fly Fishing Film Festival coming to the Bing Crosby Theater on March 25 will be a benefit for a boat access site on the Spokane River. That's reason enough to go, but showgoers won't be disappointed. The films are cool.
FISHING -- The earliest spring chinook fishing to be approved for Idaho waters will begin April 25. The state Fish and Game Commission Tuesday approved seasons and rules for the spring salmon season during its meeting in Boise. The rules are based on a projected...
HUNTING — A bighorn sheep die-off caused by disease has triggered the closure of hunting for the animals just outside Yellowstone National Park. Montana Wildlife officials said Monday that at least 34 bighorn sheep have died in the pneumonia outbreak that began late last year...
POACHING -- The buzz around Blue Mountains big-game hunting circles suggests that two Asotin County men charged with illegally killed a pair of trophy bull elk got off easy this week with fines totalling $6,000 apiece. Fines for the crimes committed could have totaled about...
ENDANGERED SPECIES -- In response to a lawsuit from a coalition of six conservation organizations, a federal court on Monday ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its 2013 decision to reduce by 90 percent its designation of critical habitat for the endangered...
SHELLFISHING -- A series of razor clam digs proposed for April and May would cap a season packed with more “beach days” than any time in the past 25 years, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says. After a nine-day opening that runs through…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.