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Recent Outdoors stories
The Mount Spokane State Park cross-country ski trails were graced Sunday by an event that falls somewhere between hot nordic competition and a yard sale.
Sportsmen were thankful Wednesday that after four days Vice President Dick Cheney finally was persuaded to take responsibility for accidentally shooting his hunting partner. But before checking out the damage from shots directed at the veep, let's focus on brighter lights in the sportsman's world.
Just in case you haven't been outside since Saturday's brief splash of spring, here's your mid-April reality check.
Five months after a contentious public meeting in Davenport, state and local governments are still trying to get answers from Rep. Cathy McMorris and Sen. Maria Cantwell.
Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be wildlife biologists – unless your boy's named Sue and your girl's dubbed Bubba. If they don't have a skin thick as a bison hump, they'll never last in the profession of managing game.
Times have changed irrevocably for anglers at the Little Pend Oreille chain of lakes east of Colville. Traditionally a hot spot for cutthroat trout fishing, the connected lakes – Gillette, Heritage, Leo, Sherry and Thomas – have been plagued with illegal introductions of perch, bass, sunfish and other species, said Curt Vail, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife district fish biologist.
What entices so many fishermen to foul great fishing streams? The question is hitting me harder as I venture out this year to sample the spring runs and hatches, and I'm not talking about the occasional litter of white plastic worm containers.
A Spokane fly fisherman caught a once-in-a-lifetime North Idaho experience in Tepee Creek Monday, and we're not talking about cutthroat trout. The angler asked to remain anonymous because … ahem … he doesn't want his boss to know he was out fishing.
Anglers and boaters are watching with interest as the sun bears down and the water rises at Lake Roosevelt. The lake level was drawn down as low as 1,230 feet above sea level this spring to accommodate water expected to pour in from the biggest mountain runoff in several years.
Last week, the WDFW opened spring chinook fishing in the upper Bonneville Pool upriver to McNary Dam. With 100,000 upriver spring chinook salmon expected to return to the Columbia River this year, fishery managers for Washington and Oregon have also reopened recreational salmon fishing below Bonneville Dam effective Wednesday.
Many excellent trout fishing waters open Saturday in this region. Chris Donley, WDFW central district fish biologist, expects the top producing waters to include Badger, Williams and West Medical lakes in southwest Spokane County and Fishtrap Lake on the Lincoln-Spokane county line.
A sudden fishing season for spring chinook salmon opens on a portion of the Snake River in Washington today, thanks to a late surge of fish up the Columbia River system.
Winter lakes Fourth of July, Hog Canyon, Williams and Hatch will close at the end of March. Anglers are taking quite a few trout from open water on all but Hatch.
The Clearwater has been running high, but the ice is gone from Orofino on down, and it should be turning on when the rain stops, said Larry Barrett at IDFG.
Local tributaries of the Snake River are in excellent condition for steelhead fishing, reported WDFW fish biologist Joe Bumgarner of Dayton. Anglers are averaging just 2 1/2 hours per steelhead on the Tucannon River, just more than three hours per fish on the Walla Walla and about five hours per fish on the Touchet River.
Steelhead season closes April 30 on most regional waters, but goes until May 15 on the Little Salmon River. North and the South Fork Clearwater anglers are averaging a fish every 6 hours.
Salmon and steelheadAdult spring chinook counts at Bonneville Dam are the lowest on record. Through Sunday, 205 fish had been counted.
Last weekend's fishing season opener on Colville Indian Reservation was a little short on open water at some of the best fishing lakes.
At first glance, George Orr appears to be pulling off a cheap campaign trick by going fishing today at 10:30 a.m. at Bear Lake County Park with a group of special education kids.
For Friday, May 12, 2006.
With large numbers of late-arriving salmon moving up the Columbia River, fishery managers for Washington and Oregon have agreed to reopen the recreational spring chinook fishery in the upper Bonneville Pool to McNary Dam starting Saturday.
Skinny dipping is a generally accepted exception. A justifiable risk. But from a practical point of view, sex and nudity in the great outdoors tends to flirt with natural lust-busters such as ticks, horseflies, poison ivy and stinging nettles.
The itch to cast a fly starts irritating serious anglers this time of year. Rocky Ford Creek south of Soap Lake is a satisfying place to scratch it.
In the realm of delicious activities conducted after dark with a fishing rod, one obscure sport is leaps and bounds above the rest. "The only thing that's really comparable is spotlighting and spearing carp," said Dan Gillette, a Pend Oreille County good ol' boy who obviously prefers the path less traveled.
Three climbers were already dead on Oregon's Mount Hood when a helicopter coming for survivors crashed and tumbled 1,000 feet down a steep snowfield. The accident, captured on video in horrifying detail, seemed to symbolize the costs and risks of alpine search and rescue.
Minnesota hunter Randy Bartz began his career in insurance then left it to become an illusionist. But, he's not the sort of magician you'll find on The Strip in Las Vegas.
A month after bagging the mule deer that ended what could be a once-in-a-lifetime sportsman's odyssey, Jim Parker's desk at Parker Toyota is piled with enough work to eliminate any time for gloating, even if he were prone to doing so.
After a year of making great strides into an active lifestyle, a Hayden couple has given some old travel habits the boot. Jane and Ralph "Skip" Lincoln mark their transformation with three life-changing moments: -- A reckoning with vacation boredom on the Oregon Coast.
For three decades, Mark Buescher has planned much of his life — job selection, the birth of his children, you name it — to maintain the tradition of getting a sore butt on the third weekend in May.
A Spokane man got more than he expected out of his first expedition-length adventure race: bruises, blisters, fatigue and a field of new acquaintances, both real and imaginary.
When a cross country skier falls in the woods, does he make a sound? Apparently, at least on the second Sunday in February at Mount Spokane.
Infrequent guests through the years, moose have been moving into the northeast corner of Oregon in greater numbers, much as they started moving into northeastern Washington decades ago.
COLUMBIA FALLS, Mont. — The former Post Office building is crammed to the ceiling with row upon row of boxes containing a curious assortment of items: Frog hair, centipede legs, tentacles, muskrat hides, moose mane, goose wing feathers, gator hair and something dubiously labeled "Rub-A-Dub.
Following yet another mild winter, the number of turkeys in the Inland Northwest has probably never been higher. And with the 2005 spring turkey season more than half over, this may be the best time to call in a gobbler.
The U. S. population has increased by 100 million people in the past 40 years and the rate of rural land lost to development through the 1990s was about 2.
Like a scent-seeking missile, a sleek 6-year-old English pointer named Cypress Gunpowder left vapor trails across nearly 3,000 acres of Tennessee in February and blew away the competition at one of the nation's oldest sportsmen's events.
Nothing takes modern big-game hunters to their roots more quickly and efficiently than a wilderness-bound pack string. Wall tents, wood stoves and saddle sores are part of a Western autumn tradition that dates back to the mountain men, although nowadays a wilderness hunt is a luxury in more ways than one.
Forty years and 106 million acres after Congress decided the wilderness should not be spoiled by people, the law is such an icon that skeptics dare only try to slow its consequences.
‘You get a chance to see how it all begins," muses Mike Block, one of my hiking companions. At our feet, in a burn-ravaged forest, green fiddlehead ferns unfurl their fronds.
Sweat, skill and surprise are three key elements facing participants in the region's first outdoor adventure race. The NIChallenge is scheduled for May 7 at Farragut State Park, sponsored by the North Idaho College Student Activities Department.
The walk itself is usually all the reason a hiker needs to go backpacking. But the effort is even sweeter than the trailside wildflowers when every step takes you further into history.
Leaving winter behind for a vacation break to Hawaii doesn't necessarily require going cold turkey on muscle-powered outdoor activities. Personally, I can relax on a beach with the best meat loafers on the planet — for about 30 minutes.
It's official, almost. Idaho dignitaries plan to make speeches and cut ribbons on Saturday to dedicate the 72-mile Trail of the Coeur d'Alene's, a spiffy paved parkway following the old Union Pacific railway from Plummer to Mullan.
Throughout history, people have been simultaneously awestruck and infatuated with towering peaks — pinnacles that come closer than other natural objects to the heavens. Borah Peak on Mount Borah is Idaho's offering to the gods.
British Columbia fishing resorts have noticed that salmon anglers no longer come from the same mold. Some anglers want nothing more than to hook a limit of chinook or coho.
Editor's note: This is the first of a series of stories by Spokane writer Maryanne Gaddy regarding her novice plunge into mountaineering and her current immersion in the three-month Mountain School conducted each spring by the Spokane Mountaineers, celebrating their 90th anniversary.
Fishing and hunting remain the foundation of the annual Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show, but there's much more between there and the roofs of the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center this week.
The gray-haired lady at the rental-car station in Pierre, S. D. , was sliding the contract over the counter when she stopped and looked up through her horn-rim glasses with a sweet, grandmotherly smile.
Washington's last best wild steelhead runs spawn in waters protected within the wilderness of Olympic National Park. Perhaps the healthiest steelhead runs in the world originate in streams that flow out of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness in southwestern Oregon.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska looms around the top of many lists. It's the nation's largest refuge and it encompasses the second-largest official wilderness.
The expedition grew, as so many others in history, from the longing gaze of a climber looking up from the lowlands at the challenge and mystery of eye-catching peaks in the distance.
Dogs were whining with anticipation in their kennels while hunters stuffed handfuls of No. 6s into their game-vest pockets. You might have thought it was opening day of the pheasant season, that is, if you didn't notice: -- The fall colors are gone.
Trails made the region's headlines in 2004. Some were opened, some were destroyed and others were the subject of debate between motorized and non-motorized users.
Anglers almost need to sleep in their waders this year. Unusual weather and a pitiful snow pack are raising havoc with normal timetables for ice-out and run-off.
It started with a strange hum, a soft fluttering as if grasshoppers had suddenly gathered on the mountain. This wasn't a symphony of Wyoming nature, but a prelude to disaster.
A story by Amy Whisenand, a Spokane home-schooled senior, has been judged the best of 252 entries to win The Spokesman-Review's 2004 outdoor writing contest for high school students.
I might have looked idiotic with my Captain America helmet, frogman fins and farmer John wetsuit, but fashion was the least of my concerns as I stood on the banks of the Clark Fork River near Missoula on a recent afternoon.
The black spot at the base of the mossy old bigleaf maple turned its head and looked as our party of five made its way down the trail through the meadow.
Forget video games. Don't even think about a fruit basket. This year get your family and friends gear they can use on the snow, in the woods or anywhere else outside and under the blue sky.
From a distance, much of it looks like wasteland. Up close, this bulge in the sea of Oregon sagebrush desert reveals itself as one of the most diverse and productive wildlife areas in Oregon.
A pair of falcons put Colville on the birdwatching map this summer. Two merlins, among the smaller of the falcon species that breed in North America, not only made a rare appearance in northeastern Washington, they set up house in the Colville City Park.
They are in their 70s, 80s and 90s, with centuries of collective life experience and wisdom. But for one day last week, they were all wet behind the ears.
Summer may be waning, but Inland Northwest bicyclists are gearing up for their sport's hottest season. Starting this morning with the 25th annual Autumn Century, sponsored by the Spokane Bicycle Club, there's a major leg-stretching event to enjoy every weekend into October.
AN EPIDEMIC IN CALIFORNIA is sounding the latest alarm that birdwatchers might be loving their songbirds to death. National surveys conducted by the U.
Three miles high on the West Buttress of North America's tallest mountain, Heather Thamm and Betsy Young are the shining faces of the new feminism. The recent graduates from Alaska Pacific University don't make a big deal about what women can do or what men might say women shouldn't do.
Lake Coeur d'Alene fishing guide Jeff Smith selects his fishing role models with the same care a savvy patient would give to choosing a surgeon. "You look for the guys who are out here doing it every day," he said.
don't know whether I'd shoot in the winter without The Spokesman-Review Trapshoot because it never crossed my mind," Chuck Booth said. After coming across a kind letter the veteran Cheney trapshooter had sent in last winter, I called recently to get a little more of his perspective on one of the longest-running sporting events in the Inland Northwest.
In August, I had a wilderness experience that changed my life. Right now, I am happy to be alive. I was unroped and scrambling on Class 4 rock on the West Ridge of Mount Stuart in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness when I strayed a bit off route, climbed through a 5th class move, decided it prudent to back off and began down-climbing.
The 158,615-acre Anaconda Pintler Wilderness in Southwestern Montana is small by Western standards, but packed inside its boundary is a beauty rivaling anything in the world.
The formula for success was pretty simple at Clear Lake on May 7. Bring in 7,000 rainbow trout plus 60 volunteers plus 1,000 rigged-up fishing rods plus 1,000 kids and you have an equation that equals more smiles than a circus.
Third in a series: This week, 30-year-old Maryanne Gaddy, an aspiring recreational climber, offers an inside look at the "snow practice" session, one of the highlights in the annual 14-week-long Mountain School offered by the Spokane Mountaineers.
She's the queen of the skies over High Bridge Park, and a devoted mate and model housekeeper as well. A 13-year-old female peregrine falcon — one of the oldest wild moms of her species — has hatched another brood of chicks under the Sunset Highway bridge upstream from the confluence of Hangman Creek and the Spokane River.
High-tech cameras have made their mark in producing high-quality films from high-energy places. The evidence was on the big screen last weekend in Alberta at the 29th annual Banff Mountain Film Festival, and it's on the way to Spokane this week.
Explorers scam sponsors, spend fortunes and span the globe looking for unique, far-flung adventures. Mike Aho found a cheap expedition in Spokane's backyard. "I'd never seen the Spokane River in its entirety, and as I started looking for information, I realized I'd never talked to anyone who'd been on the river from beginning to end," said the outdoor program director for the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department.
The blistering July sun beat upon Eastern Washington's landscape. It had killed the wild grass, leaving it withered and brown. The pine trees withstood the harsh rays better.
Part 2: A helicopter fights winds, rangers scramble on foot and on ropes, and injured climbers wait and pray in this installment of a three-part serial about a lightning strike last summer that left climbers hurt high in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.
BOZEMAN — A federal judge's ruling in an Arizona case involving caps on nonresident hunters and the fees they must pay may affect similar regulations in Montana, a state wildlife agency attorney says.
WASHINGTON — A Senate showdown over an Alaska wildlife refuge is expected within weeks as Republicans plan to use a budget measure to overcome strong opposition to allow oil drilling in the protected area.
WALES, Alaska — Two men began skiing to Russia last week from the icy shores of Alaska, dragging on sleds the 250 pounds of gear they hope will help keep them alive.
Anglers will pay a premium this year to fish seven of the most popular streams in southeastern British Columbia. To help reduce pressure in the East Kootenay Region, a special $20-a-day permit (Canadian funds) will be required for out-of-province anglers who fish the Bull, Elk, Kootenay (upstream from White River), St.
Editor's note: This is the second in a series of articles about a 30-year-old woman's ascent into the world of mountain climbing through the annual Mountain School conducted by the Spokane Mountaineers.
Wilderness is argued to be either the ultimate protection for America's choice wild lands or a drastic lock-up that excludes the use of motorized equipment, not just for recreation but also for management.
During autumn, a sportsman who hunts and fishes struggles with a dilemma as perplexing as a loose dog that finds himself between a carcass and a cow pie.
WASHINGTON — More than 125 scientists, including chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall and biologist Edward O. Wilson, have a signed a letter opposing the Bush administration's plan to reverse a Clinton-era ban on road building and logging in 58 million acres of remote national forests.
My daughters don't care much for blood and guts, and that's a healthy lesson for a Montana-born hunter-fisherman to learn. A son might have had more interest in the 20-gauge and the five-weight fly rod I've made available to my daughters, but he wouldn't necessarily have any more wilderness miles under his hipbelt.
The Colville, Okanogan and Wenatchee national forests are shifting into another gear on the road to revising their forest management plans. Although forest officials have been working with user groups to outline specific issues, such as motorized use of recreational roads and trails, broader public meetings have been scheduled.
Winter is prime time to delve into the sport of fly fishing, from the art of creating flies to the skill of catching fish with them.
Imagine an incessant whining of mosquitoes, caribou hair so pervasive it sticks to food and covers clothes, a week trapped in a tent sharing a single sleeping bag, not enough sleep, not enough food, months without a shower.
The Cedar was a workingman's river. It flowed past cement plants, airplane factories and trailer parks in southeastern King County, feeding Lake Washington, a poor-man's Puget Sound.
Turkey hunters head into the woods well before dawn in the hopes of calling in a gobbler, but the truth is that most hunters could sleep in and still have an excellent chance of bagging a bird.
Third in a series: Last time, The Lake Lady visited the Lower St. Joe River. This week she heads a little farther north into the Idaho Panhandle as she continues her powerboater's view of Inland Northwest waters.
Part 3: "Am I going to be OK? " a dangling climber asks as rangers finally reach him in this last installment of "Courage on Friction Pitch," a three-part serial about a lightning strike last summer that left climbers dead and injured high in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.
Cold air rushing in the open window, Damion looks out from his room above Pierre's Trade Store, peering down at the dirt street of New Mica.
Birdwatchers in this region and across the continent will flock together in the next few weeks for the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count, the annual birding social event of the season.
Norm Price is on a crusade that has two goals: help fellow anglers catch more fish, and recycle millions of discarded beer bottle caps from bars and restaurants throughout North America.
Second in a series: Last time, Laurel Boone Helm offered her powerboater's view of Banks Lake near Coulee City, Wash. This week The Lake Lady and her family launch their 18-footer at the south end of Lake Coeur d'Alene as they explore another boating getaway within a short drive of Spokane.
HELENA — In 1991, new arrivals to the Canyon Ferry Wildlife Management Area started making a few nests on the islands at the south end of the reservoir.
"Dang it, missed another one," I said to myself, "Oh well, there are always more fish to catch. " "Meghan, set the hook, how many times do I have to tell you?
Two Spokane-area anglers said there was a downside to landing the fish that put their names in the record books.
Allen Peterson has the humble goal of working one on one to introduce the joy of fly fishing to underprivileged kids from single-parent families. Since he opened Swede's Fly Shop on North Ash Street last April, Peterson has offered free fly tying lessons to single-parent kids, one or two at a time.
Two Spokane-area anglers said there was a downside to landing the fish that put their names in the record books. For Bryan McMannis, it was a matter of timing.
This is bizarre. People are launching kayaks on what is essentially a lake of weak battery acid at Badwater Point in Death Valley National Park, Calif.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Let others dissect only frogs in science class. Stephanie Bradford also wants the hearts and eyes of moose, caribou and bear.
For starters, I am a sportsman, not a gear junkie. I love hunting, fishing, hiking and paddling. I hate shopping. I prefer spending my time in the field, not at the mall.
Managing access, whether by motor vehicle or human power, has become a hot topic as national forests revise their management plans for the first time in about 15 years.
GARIBALDI, Ore. — A year ago, the Taki-Tooo left the Port of Garibaldi bound for the deep fishing waters off the Oregon coast and headed into infamy as one of the state's deadliest marine tragedies.
Just as the runt of the litter can turn out to be the best dog in the kennel, a gem could be hiding in the dregs of the fishing-guide pool.
Fourth in a series: Last time, The Lake Lady cruised on North Idaho's Spirit Lake. This week, she's returning to the same neighborhood to explore Hauser Lake for another powerboating tour of Inland Northwest waters.
The history of the body of water that became Lake Roosevelt started with the Ice Age floods that carved the landscape, leaving huge boulders and abstract formations along the shores of the Columbia and Spokane rivers.
SALT LAKE CITY — There are pack horses, pack mules and pack llamas. But how about pack goats? Goats are perhaps the newest trend in hiking and backpack-carrying animals, and Utah is leading the pack in their promotion by hosting the 2004 Rendezvous for the North American Packgoat Association this spring near Flaming Gorge.
Rivers are the blood vessels of a wilderness area. They are the life lines that link the ecosystem and provide the arterials for fish, wildlife and adventurers alike.
Editor's note: Last summer, Laurel Boone Helm wrote 11 columns for Outdoors & Travel chronicling her travels to launch her family's 18-foot powerboat and explore the dozens of lakes within a reasonable drive from her home near Cheney.
SHELBY, N. C. — The Appalachian Trail opened in 1937 as a continuous footpath and, a year later, Lee Barry first set his boots on the trail.
The National Park Service will distribute guided climbing opportunities of Mount Rainier among three mountaineering companies beginning in 2006, effectively ending a near-monopoly one company has held at the peak for more than 30 years.
A new era is developing for fishermen who have made traditions of catching trout in British Columbia's southeastern waters. New attractive fisheries are emerging while the fishing quality is fading at some perennial favorite lakes.
MOIESE, Mont. — The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has shot 11 coyotes on the National Bison Range so far this year, in an effort to give newborn pronghorn antelope a better chance of survival.
Fly tiers are realists and dreamers all in one. They create fly-fishing patterns to simulate insects and fishes. Some dream up attractor patterns they hope will deceive fish and become as popular as the Royal Coachman, a pattern that's been a staple for a hundred years.
RENO, Nev. — Jon Wilson, a 27-year-old downhill mountain bike racer, likes the new style called freeriding because any challenge is fair game — from bombing down flights of stairs to dropping off 10-foot cliffs to riding across teeter-totters.
The beaches were an afterthought. Olympic National Park was established in 1938 primarily to protect the declining herds of Roosevelt elk and the old-growth forests that sustained them.
Montana is a magnet to hunters from across the nation each fall. Time seems to have stood still in the rural areas of this huge state with its rich, thriving wildlife populations.
The real estate boom on Lake Coeur d'Alene is gradually silencing the boom of waterfowler's guns. Hunters in recent years have gone to bays only to find new homes in areas where they used to build their duck blinds.
Back in 1988, my family lived at the famous Grand Canyon in Arizona. My dad was a trail crew worker for the National Park Service and knew the incredible canyon and the mighty Colorado River very well.
In the next few weeks, the camps of President Bush and challenger Sen. John Kerry will be rolling out their campaigns to win over what is often called the "hook and bullet" crowd.
Ah, wilderness! Friday marks the 40th anniversary of The Wilderness Act, the legislation signed by President Lyndon Johnson that has helped assure that America's grandest landscapes — from the Florida Everglades to the Washington Coast — would remain wild .
WASHINGTON — Hours after formally kicking off his U. S. Senate campaign, Republican Rep. George Nethercutt endorsed a wilderness proposal in Washington state. Nethercutt, a conservative who has drawn criticism for what environmentalists call anti-environment votes, said Friday he believes the proposed Wild Sky area northeast of Seattle should be preserved.
Waterfowl hunters who hunker on a Snake River island in hope of decoying ducks or geese are more likely to have a shot at fur than feathers.
Volunteers focused on elk, turkeys and ducks are busy organizing Inland Northwest fund-raising dinners and auctions to boost wildlife conservation projects. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation are particularly active, raising millions of dollars to improve habitat for these and other wildlife species.
DULUTH, Minn. — Walking through the woods near my home the other day, I came upon a great gray owl that had died. It was lying atop the snow beneath some alders and young aspen.
While this winter has been the worst for snow lovers, it has been among the best for cyclists who would rather ride outside than on an indoor trainer.
Walking is something we learn naturally. The art of backpacking, however, requires a few additional steps. Two different Spokane-area outdoor clubs with decades of experience in hiker know-how offer spring backpacking schools to get hikers off on the right foot.
Your feet will work fine, but you need to train your brain to hike the desert of Central Washington. For those used to roaming the forests and mountains of the Cascade Range, this country is too big, too wide open, a bit unnerving.
Logging is a high-profile activity when it occurs between city neighborhoods and skidders drag trees across popular hiking and mountain bike trails. Reaction to a current forest-thinning operation on Spokane City Parks land near Hangman Creek and Hatch Road has ranged from concern to delight, city officials said.
While a bill that would authorize opening more secondary roads to all-terrain vehicles is cruising through the Washington Legislature, U. S. Forest Service officials in Washington are saying they may have been too strict in banning ATVs on some forest roads under existing law.
Hunter education instructors have lives to live and passions to pursue, a point that's especially worth making this time of year, their Washington state leader says.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — "People look at the long barrel and think it's going to kick or that it's too hard to shoot," said inventor Wendell Diller.
Grand Teton National Park is all about the mountains. Doing almost anything is more fun while watching the jagged peaks shift in front of forested hillsides and alpine lakes, and biking through the park is becoming one of the most popular ways to do that.
CHARLOTTE, N. C. — Takahiro Omori, an immigrant from Japan, came to the United States hoping to become a pro fisherman and one day winning bass fishing's biggest prize, the Bassmaster Classic.
LEWISTON, Idaho — Mike Rinard of Lewiston isn't shy about his product. "We make the finest shooting glasses," he says. "We have been rated No.
WASHINGTON — About 10 percent of all bird species face extinction by the end of the century and 15 percent more are on the brink, according to researchers who say such extinctions would have a widespread impact on the environment, agriculture and human society.
It's time for high school students to begin thinking about fame, fortune and the great outdoors. The Spokesman-Review once again is joining the Outdoor Writers Association of America in sponsoring a contest for youth outdoor writing.
MOSCA, Colo. — More than 100,000 acres of towering sand dunes, snow-capped mountains and high desert became the Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Baca National Wildlife Refuge on Sept.
RENO, Nev. — A lawsuit by three New Mexico outfitters accusing Nevada of discriminating against non-residents when issuing big-game hunting tags has Nevada wildlife officials scrambling to revamp the rules before next fall.
The steelhead runs up the Snake River have slowed. But even anglers with good steelheading in their neighborhood can find reasons to drive the winding roads toward the Bogachiel River on Washington's Olympic Coast.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A conservative legal foundation filed twin federal lawsuits last week challenging federal protections for 42 species, 15 of which live only in shallow seasonal pools across much of California and in far southern Oregon.
If you've ever fantasized about joining an expedition but couldn't shake free for the months or years required, set aside a few hours to view the current shows at the IMAX Theater in Riverfront Park.
Paddlers and downtown interests are eager to harvest some of the Spokane River's unutilized recreational value. But first they need some seed money. The Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club has joined area businesses to raise $45,000 needed for the design, permit and engineering phase of developing a whitewater park on the Spokane River near the new Sandifur pedestrian bridge.
ANCHORAGE — The McNeil River brown bears — famous for going about their business of catching salmon within a few yards of admiring tourists and photographers — won't be hunted during the next two years on state lands adjacent to the state game sanctuary.
A California company, Red Rock Biologics, is marketing a canine vaccine that has proved effective in protecting dogs against venomous snakebite. According to company spokeswoman Janet Jones, most veterinarians are selling the vaccine for $25 to $30 a dose.
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, Calif. — Norm Macdonald rises each morning with the sun, grabs his . 223-caliber rifle and slips into the passenger seat of a tiny, doorless helicopter for another day of shooting pigs.
Late snowfall and April showers have offered hope for trout anglers fond of fishing Montana's fabled Beaverhead River and its upstream tributary, Red Rock River.
More than 30 volunteers from northeastern Washington have joined a project to spy on the region's shyest wildlife. The helpers already been trained on installing special cameras with motion-activated sensors that trigger the shutter when a critter moves through the viewfinder.
Two Texas ranchers recently paid $450,000 for Jake the Dream Buck, a white-tailed deer with an enormous set of antlers that far exceed the measurements of the state record buck taken in 1892.
The only federal wildlife refuge set aside to protect bison — the American buffalo — will be managed by the Interior Department and Indian tribes in an unusual partnership that conservationists fear could lead to more development of public lands.
BOZEMAN — A Yellowstone National Park ornithologist who saw four ravens systematically kill 141 grebes describes the spectacle in a recent issue of Yellowstone Science, a quarterly magazine.
A rifle sight that incorporates a digital camera and computerized trajectory compensation has created a buzz heard far beyond the shooting industry's annual trade show last month.
GREAT FALLS — Outfitters and federal land officials are expecting a surge of recreational floaters on Montana's Wild and Scenic portion of the Missouri River this summer that could compensate for last year's lackluster traffic.
A flurry of activity has surrounded the issue of endangered species in the past month, from the field to Congress. Several Western governors recently called for a reform of the federal Endangered Species Act that would promote conservation while giving states a greater say in how their lands are managed.
A ballot measure to outlaw bear-baiting in Alaska apparently came down to a debate over which side represented the true Alaskan. On Nov. 2, the state's voters sided with the small number of hunters who use bait to lure bears within shooting range.
Backers of a Montana constitutional amendment protecting the ability of state citizens to hunt and fish consider it a necessary pre-emptive strike against future threats to something that is a "cherished way of life" in the state.
PARADISE, Wash. — Just 12 years old when he first climbed Mount Rainier, Peter Whittaker considers the rugged, glacier-studded peak his back yard. He has ascended the 14,411-foot mountain more than 200 times, and his company, Rainier Mountaineering Inc. | 
