Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Here are the Idaho enterprise and outdoors stories for this week. The bureau can be reached at 208-343-1894. The photo supervisor is at (415) 495-1708 or (212) 621-1900.
Idaho Enterprise for March 15-16.
AP MEMBER EXCHANGES:
WOLF PUP-SURVIVAL STUDY
COEUR D'ALENE — Lacy Robinson needed to know how many North Idaho wolf pups survived their first year. Not an easy task, the state wildlife biologist soon realized. Most wolf pups looked alike in the grainy images captured by infrared trail cameras, making it difficult to identify them in subsequent photos. Aerial counts had limitations, too. By the time the pups were about 6 months old, they were nearly as large as adults. "It's easy to count litters of pups in the spring," Robinson said. But figuring out if those pups were still alive at the end of December was a challenge. By Becky Kramer of The Spokesman-Review. SENT: 600 words moved in advance for weekend use. AP photos pursuing.
SAGE GROUSE TRAPPING
ALMO — A rumbling spaceship skims the alien landscape, its beam scouring hillsides as creatures scurry from the light. The ship rises toward dark mountains merely suggested by the faint glow of a cloudy night. Wait. Is that rumble a Johnny Cash song? Yes, it's a country tune blasting from speakers attached to the battery of a pickup, which drives in low gear without headlights up a dirt track on the south side of the Jim Sage Mountains. The man sweeping the spotlight across the desert is wildlife technician Jeff Moker, perched in a tall, swiveling chair mounted in the truck's bed. And the creatures that scatter in the night are rabbits. By Virginia Hutchins of The Times-News. SENT: 1200 words moved in advance for weekend use.
OUTDOORS:
OUTDOORS-SPRING BREAK ADVENTURES
BOISE, Idaho — Spring break is usually the first big outdoorsy adventure of the year for parents and kids, and Idaho has plenty of places to satisfy a family's wanderlust. During spring break, it's winterlike or springlike somewhere in the state because of Idaho's cold mountains and mild canyons. Basically, it's a good time for a shakedown outing for the kids. No matter how old your kids are, if you're looking for a place to head out over spring break, look no further than these areas. By Pete Zimowsky, Idaho Statesman. UPCOMING: 1300 words moving in advance for the weekend, AP Photo.
OUTDOORS-HIKING-BADLANDS WILDERNESS
BEND, Ore. — I got off work early on Friday feeling excited. My husband, Robin, was off too, and we had big plans — which are basically what we call any plans that involve us spending time alone without our 3-year-old. Rather than spend these rare and precious hours catching a movie or heading to a happy hour, we decided to hit a local trail. The bright blue sky beckoned us east. Getting out of the car, we encountered spring-like conditions. The temperature hovered in the mid-40s, but the sun made it feel 10 degrees warmer. By Alandra Johnson, The (Bend) Bulletin. UPCOMING: 800 words moving in advance for the weekend, AP Photo.
OUTDOORS-FISHING-RIVER GUY
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Lyle Cabe of Vancouver started his career as a clerk-typist in the Oregon Air National Guard and finished as a colonel and wing commander flying F-15 fighter jets. He started his passion for the outdoors roaming what's now the Minnehaha neighborhood shooting pheasants and ducks and catching fish in the local ponds. And to those who think he now fishes every day — he doesn't. "I go no more than three days a week," said Cabe, 67, still living in Minnehaha with his wife, Barbara. "I'm a river guy," said Cabe. "I love rivers, I love flowing water. I enjoy fishing and I enjoy getting out there and seeing the sunrise, the leaves in fall, just enjoying God's creation." By Allen Thomas, The Columbian. UPCOMING: 900 words moving in advance for the weekend, AP Photo.
OUTDOORS-CYCLING-TRANQUIL TRAIL
VERNONIA, Ore. — There's a state of mind known to long-distance hikers best described, I suppose, as "autopilot." It's the moment when walking becomes so fluid you only consider the surrounding forest — trees and breeze and birds — and are barely conscious of moving legs. You just go. This zenlike state is easiest to achieve while hiking because there isn't much to worry about, as opposed to kayaking (look out for that rapid!), skiing (look out for that turn!) and especially biking (look out for that car!). But every rule has its exception. And for cyclists, the best example might be the car-free bliss of the Banks-Vernonia State Trail. Oregon's first rails-to-trail system follows an old railroad bed through prairie and Coast Range on a pathway so smooth it's easy to slip into an autopilot state where peddling becomes afterthought. This isn't to say riding the entire trail's 42 miles out-and-back is easy — especially for a duffing rider like me — but with an early start and midway meal, the trail's forest, creeks and birds create two-wheeled tranquility. By Zach Urness, Statesman Journal. UPCOMING: 900 words moving in advance for Monday and thereafter, AP Photo.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
