Outdoors briefs for March 1, 2012
Idaho Fish and Game to discuss big game seasons
COEUR d'ALENE - The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) has scheduled four public meetings to discuss big game hunting seasons for 2012.
Hunting seasons for deer, bear, lion, wolves, and elk will be covered in the meetings.
Two morning meetings are slated for Saturday, March 3. One will be held in Pinehurst at 7 a.m. at the Lions Club,106 Church St. The second meeting is 8 a.m. at the Elks Lodge, 628 Main St. in St. Maries. Coffee is provided free, and breakfast will be available ($7 in Pinehurst and $8 in St. Maries).
A Thursday, March, 8 meeting will be 7 p.m. in Sandpoint at the Bonner County Fairgrounds in the Lehman Building and at 7 p.m. Friday, March 9 at the Coeur d'Alene Resort.
Public input on proposed big game seasons will be allowed at the meetings, as well as through the IDFG website, http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/. Statewide big game proposals will be posted on the website.
Individuals with disabilities may request meeting accommodations by contacting Jim Hayden at 769-1414; or, through the Idaho Relay Service at (800) 377-2529.
Yellowdog Creek restored through joint effort
A creek that feeds into the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River is coming back to life thanks to a state and federal effort.
Yellowdog Creek was polluted for decades by eroding forest road sediment. But work by the U.S. Forest Service, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has restored the waterway to health.
The work stabilized erosion prone areas, brought back stream-cooling vegetation and allowed native cutthroat trout to thrive.
The Forest Service says more restoration efforts will be conducted in the region's forests in coming years.
Yellowdog Creek is part of the North Fork Coeur d'Alene River system, draining the Coeur d'Alene Mountains of northern Idaho. Most of the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene and its tributaries lie within the Coeur d'Alene National Forest, managed by the USFS. Intensive timber harvest and road building occurred through much of the area from 1890 until the early 2000s.