Boat-launching etiquette isn’t observed by all
May 8, 2012 by YH-R Outdoors
YAKIMA, Wash. — Today’s subject: boat-launching etiquette. This is the time of year when more and more anglers and pleasure boaters are taking to the waters and, after a few irritating experiences at the boat ramp this past weekend, I thought it might be timely to discuss some boat launching “dos and don’ts.” First, I [...]
Motorized trails will be closed for spring
May 8, 2012 by YH-R Outdoors
YAKIMA, Wash. — People who want to use the Naches Ranger District’s motorized trails — even non-motorized users, whether mountain bikers, horseback riders or even hikers — will need to wait until June 15 to do so unless a long stretch of dry weather conditions, in the words of district officials, “warrant an earlier opening.” [...]
Mule Deer Foundation sets May 19 banquet
May 8, 2012 by YH-R Outdoors
YAKIMA, Wash. — The Mule Deer Foundation’s Yakima Chapter has slated its 16th annual banquet and auction for Saturday, May 19, at the Elks Golf Course clubhouse in Selah. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. for the chapter’s primary fundraising event of the year, with dinner to begin at 6 p.m. at the auction to [...]
DNR plans statewide summer burn ban
May 7, 2012 by YH-R Outdoors
YAKIMA, Wash. — The state Department of Natural Resources will have a statewide burn ban on all DNR-protected lands this summer, lasting July through September. The ban covers all forestlands in Washington under DNR fire protection, meaning all state forests and much of the Central Washington checkerboard ownership pattern shared with the state wildlife department, [...]
5/8/12 Bird alert
May 7, 2012 by YH-R Outdoors
YAKIMA, Wash. — Some unexpected and fairly rare birds were spotted this week in Yakima County. Two lesser goldfinches — a small, seed-eating finch of the Southwest — were observed at Fort Simcoe, and two black-bellied plovers, a medium-sized shorebird that breeds along the Arctic coast, were seen in the flooded field along Highway 97 [...]
5/8/12 Outdoors out and about
May 7, 2012 by YH-R Outdoors
WENAS MEETINGS: Just a reminder — two meetings to generate public input on how best to address safety issues along the Wenas Wildlife Area’s Sheep Country Road corridor are coming up next week. The WDFW Region 3 office in Yakima has scheduled meetings next Tuesday (May 15) at Ellensburg’s Hal Holmes Center and May 16 [...]
5/8/12 Outdoors calendar
May 7, 2012 by YH-R Outdoors
THIS MORNING: The Cascadians’ Trekkers and Tuesday Free Spirits groups will head out at 8 a.m. from the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot for two separate hikes. The Free Spirits — who are just that — will be heading out on a hike yet to be determined. The Trekkers will hike a portion of the [...]
Wet spring equals closed trails
May 4, 2012 by Scott Sandsberry
YAKIMA, Wash. — People who want to use the Naches Ranger District’s motorized trails — even non-motorized users, whether mountain bikers, horseback riders or even hikers — will need to wait until June 15 to do so. Or earlier, should a stretch of dry weather conditions, in the words of district officials, “warrant an earlier [...]
Getting to know the shrub steppe world
May 1, 2012 by Scott Sandsberry
YAKIMA, Wash. — It’s been around for a dozen years now, this Saturday’s event being the 13th annual, so “Get Intimate with the Shrub Steppe” is no longer the fresh, new thing. But if you’ve never checked it out, hey, it’s new to you. And even if you have, hey, it’s still a cool way [...]
Wildlife Moment: In Search of the Hawk
May 1, 2012 by YH-R Outdoors
“No considerable walk or ride over the barren foothills is complete without glimpse of these majestic hawks.” William Leon Dawson When he penned those words in 1902, William Leon Dawson was writing about the ferruginous hawk, the largest hawk in North America. Dawson lived near the Ahtanum Mission from 1885 to1887 and again for [...]
