Field Reports: Timber work resumes near Hayden
From staff reports
A timber project east of Hayden Lake is expected to kick back up next week, resulting in a closure on recreational shooting in the area.
The U.S. Forest Service said in a news release that the Kootenai Fuels Reduction project will resume on 174 acres east of Hayden Lake and south of Hayden Creek.
The project is meant to limit wildfire danger by thinning potential fuels on the ground and in the forest understory. It’s part of a multiyear 3,000-acre project in the wildland-urban interface in Idaho’s Kootenai County.
The unit where crews will be working includes a popular shooting area known as the Hayden Creek shooting pit off Forest Service Road 437. The agency ordered a temporary closure on recreational shooting in the area Friday to keep people from shooting in the direction of the workers, who will be downrange.
The work is expected to last two to four weeks. Closures will be lifted when the work is over.
Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to meet this week
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet in Olympia this week, covering a variety of issues over three days.
The nine-member panel that oversees the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will meet starting Thursday with its committee meetings and will continue through Saturday.
Top ticket items this time around include cougar rulemaking and WDFW’s annual wolf report, which will give the agency’s latest population estimate.
Those interested in watching the meeting can attend in person at the Natural Resources Building or watch it online. Public comment periods will be held, and the commission is requiring people who want to comment to register online in advance.
The full agenda and information on streaming is available at https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/meetings/2024/18-20apr2024-agenda.
Idaho hosting ‘Talk Shop’ event in Kellogg
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is hosting its final “Talk Shop with Idaho Fish and Game” gathering later this month in Kellogg.
The events offer the public a chance to meet and mingle with agency officials over free food and soft drinks.
Idaho Fish and Game said in a news release that the events are meant to be conversational, and that they aren’t part of season setting or any other management process. Several of the events have been held earlier this year.
The event will be on April 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Kellogg School District Administrative Annex (Old Kellogg Middle School) at 810 Bunker Ave.