Spokane Canoe & Kayak Club offers paddling classes

PADDLING – A series of paddling clinics for canoes, kayaks, sea kayaks and recreational kayaks on flatwater and rivers will get underway in June as part of an annual skills program offered by the Spokane Canoe & Kayak Club.

These classes tune in paddlers to proper techniques, gear and awareness to hazards.

The first in the series is the clinic for recreational and inflatable kayaks focusing on stroke efficiency and safety, June 3 at Medical Lake.

Membership in the club is required ($25 annual fee) and a $55 per paddlers fee is charged for the clinics except for the recreational kayak session, which is free to members. Basic equipment is required.

Club membership opens the door to group outings and mentoring from accomplished paddlers.

The Flatwater Canoeing Clinic is second in the series, set for June 10 at Medical Lake.

The clinic for solo and tandem canoeists covers strokes, equipment, safety and rescue, hypothermia, transporting canoes, launching and canoe trim and paddler position.

The Flatwater Clinic is a prerequisite for the Moving Water Canoeing Clinic set for June 24-25.

Other club-taught clinics include:

Sea Kayaking Clinic, July 12, 15 and 16.

Whitewater Kayaking, July 15-16.

Sign up at least a week prior to a clinic at www.sckc.ws.

Info: Call (509) 991-3030 or email Lynaia Liptak, liptak.lynaia@gmail.com.

Vehicle access blocked on Towell Falls road

PUBLIC LANDS – The Towell Falls Road on the Escure Ranch along Rock Creek south of Sprague will not open to motor-vehicle use this year because of water ponding that’s likely to block the road into June, U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials say.

The road normally is opened to vehicles in May until the annual range fire safety closure takes effect in mid-June.

Hikers and bicyclists can continue to use the road.

Washington, Idaho tackle fish, game issues

WILDLIFE – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet in Clarkston on Friday with an agenda that includes land transactions. briefings on Snake River fish issues, Wooten flood plain and hunter education.

The meeting will convene at the Quality Inn, 700 Port Dr.

On Saturday, commissioners will tour state wildlife areas.

Idaho’s Fish and Game Commission is scheduled to meet Friday by conference call to consider reopening the spring chinook fishing season.

Keep elk off I-90,legislature says

A Washington Legislature bill directing state departments to look into methods of deterring elk from Interstate 90 in Kittitas County was signed into law last week.

The law directs the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington State Department of Transportation to look for ways to reduce traffic collisions involving elk.

“There are too many of them, that is why they’re on the highways,” said Rep. Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake) the sponsor of the bill. “They don’t have enough to eat.”

Last year, more than 60 elk were killed in collisions on Vantage hill.