Eastern Washington birding enthusiasts are flying high with the release of a colorful new birding trail map for the state's eastern region.

RICHLAND -- Volunteers are needed March 6-7 to help Friends of Badger Mountain, Washington Trail Association, Rattlesnake Ridge Riders and the Chinook Bicycle Club dig and level a new trail on Badger Mountain.

When it comes to chinook salmon, this spring could be a repeat of 2001, the recent high-water mark for salmon fishing in Idaho.

BOISE -- It sure is easy to crank up the heater, turn on the TV and stay indoors during winter.

BOISE -- It sure is easy to crank up the heater, turn on the TV and stay indoors during winter.

KENNEWICK — Dr. Laura Winkel of Kennewick has been named to the women's All-American Trapshooting team for the 10th straight year by the Amateur Trapshooting Association.

RICHLAND -- James Jell and Will Black of the University of Idaho have been awarded $1,000 scholarships from the Richland Rod & Gun Club for wildlife-related study.

BOISE, Idaho -- Rick Hobson, a Boise wolf advocate, used a public records request to get the names of hunters who reported wolf kills to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and posted 122 names and bought a classified ad in the Idaho Statesman that directed people to a website.

LEAVENWORTH -- So you want to ski without lifts, to the backcountry where solitude and untracked powder, and potential avalanches, await?

KENNEWICK -- Learn about birding in Costa Rica at the monthly meeting of the Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society at 7 p.m. Tuesday at First Lutheran Church in Kennewick, at the corner of 395 and Yelm Street.

OROFINO -- Dave Powers has a foot firmly planted at opposite ends of the hunting spectrum.

The Forest Service has announced its plan for the popular Cape Horn trail in the Columbia River Gorge, including a January-through-June closure on much of the route along the cliffs south of state Highway 14.

A professional photographer may be able to readily tell if a photo has been manipulated, but there are some easy clues for lesser trained eyes to detect digital alteration in a nature or wildlife photograph.

KENNEWICK -- Dennis Dauble will give a presentation about the history of fish and fishing in the Columbia River Basin starting at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Mid-Columbia Library main branch, at the corner of 19th Avenue and Union Street in Kennewick.

SPOKANE -- Digital technology and the Internet have rocketed mankind into a new universe of speed and access to information.

Matthew Gretzon may accomplish in death what 18 other Oregonians have failed to do over the past two decades to change the way the state's 250,000 hunters see each other in the field.

PASCO -- Start the new year with dreams of outdoor adventures to come at the 17th annual Tri-Cities Sportsmen Show from Jan. 15-17 at TRAC in Pasco.

MOSES LAKE -- The Central Basin Audubon club will have its annual fundraiser, auction and dinner at 6 p.m. on Feb. 2 at the Women's Club, 1105 Columbia St., Moses Lake.

The Coastal Conservation Association will attempt to place an initiative on the Oregon ballot in November to ban gillnets and tangle nets in state waters.

CONCRETE -- The killing of about seven elk cornered in a farm pasture in eastern Skagit County spurred state officials to close the elk archery season in the area and angered others who either witnessed or heard about the killings.

KENNEWICK -- The Richland Rod & Gun Club holds its first meeting of the year at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Tri-Cities Elks Lodge, 15 S. Colorado, Kennewick.

YAKIMA -- Fourteen years ago, a pneumonia outbreak among bighorn sheep in Hells Canyon along the Snake River killed about 300 of the animals, leaving a scene one scientist called "like a war zone ... sheep lying dead everywhere you looked."

This year may be remembered for the big comeback of the Columbia River's migratory fish.

Longtime hunters know the adage: "That's why they call it hunting, not killing."

More than a handful of the preliminary Columbia River salmon forecasts have already been released, and it appears that anglers should be happy with what they'll find next spring, summer and fall.

RICHLAND -- If you want to start off 2010 in hearty fashion, look no further than the Inter-Mountain Alpine Club's annual New Year's Day Badger Mountain hike.

OLYMPIA -- The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has launched its first Twitter account, which will include state park winter recreation notifications.

The rut is winding down, leaving motorists with one less reason for colliding with a deer, elk or moose on the highway.

SPOKANE -- The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge will receive $1.5 million to purchase nearly 500 additional acres of Eastern Washington's Channeled Scablands.

Resentment is simmering on the Washington and Idaho sides of the river regarding hints that fishery managers may reduce the number of steelhead released from hatcheries.

Resentment is simmering on the Washington and Idaho sides of the river regarding hints that fishery managers may reduce the number of steelhead released from hatcheries.

Resentment is simmering on the Washington and Idaho sides of the river regarding hints that fishery managers may reduce the number of steelhead released from hatcheries.

Resentment is simmering on the Washington and Idaho sides of the river regarding hints that fishery managers may reduce the number of steelhead released from hatcheries.

Resentment is simmering on the Washington and Idaho sides of the river regarding hints that fishery managers may reduce the number of steelhead released from hatcheries.

Resentment is simmering on the Washington and Idaho sides of the river regarding hints that fishery managers may reduce the number of steelhead released from hatcheries.

Resentment is simmering on the Washington and Idaho sides of the river regarding hints that fishery managers may reduce the number of steelhead released from hatcheries.

BENTON CITY -- Tri-City author Dennis Dauble will sign copies of his book, Fishes of the Columbia Basin, from 1-4 p.m. today at the Chandler Reach Winery, 9506 W. Chandler Road in Benton City.

MEDFORD -- Some of Oregon's more seasoned elk poachers have learned to sidestep getting caught in a backwoods wildlife-enforcement-decoy sting by following the mantra, "If it ain't movin', we ain't shootin'."

The big question for wolf hunting in Montana is where to go from here.

FORT BENTON, Mont. -- Our hopes were quickly confirmed as we beached our canoes on an island soon after launching on the Missouri River near Fort Benton, Mont.

Three men braved Friday's early morning cold in the hopes of being the first to paddleboard the last free-flowing stretch of the mighty Columbia River.

SPOKANE -- The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have filed a federal lawsuit claiming state wildlife officers routinely violate the hunting rights of tribal members in an area that was once part of the reservation.

STEVENSON -- A decision will be announced in mid-December on the fate of the popular Cape Horn trail in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

LEWISTON, Idaho -- Negotiations between Northwest states and Indian tribes could lead to an increased number of spring chinook available to anglers upstream of Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River and stretching into Idaho via the Snake River.

VANCOUVER -- New wildlife director Phil Anderson said this week that more reductions are looming for the Department of Fish and Wildlife in light of the state's $2.6 billion budget shortfall, with closure of public access spots and hatchery cuts high on the list.

OLYMPIA -- Washington's Fish and Wildlife Commission will accept final public input on new state sportfishing rules proposed for 2010-12 during its Dec. 4-5 meeting in Olympia.

METHOW -- The instant a black dot appears on the horizon, someone calls out, "We've got a bird out there," and all chatter stops. The sound of a gentle wind pushing against the ridgetop is all that can be heard as wildlife biologists and visitors raise binoculars to their eyes to study the speck coming toward them.

SPOKANE -- Of all the steelhead fishing techniques, none is quite so simple as the cast-swing-step rhythm of fishing a fly.

DAYTON — Ski Bluewood announced this morning that its opening day will be Wednesday.

The Snake River's record run of steelhead has been parading and delivering pleasure and profit from the mouth of the Columbia upstream 800 miles to the Salmon, Idaho, area- and beyond.