UI Extension to hold meat canning class
OROFINO — The University of Idaho Extension office here is offering a class on pressure canning meats.
Those who attend the meeting from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at 2200 Michigan Ave., will learn how to safely make and preserve low-acid foods at home such as vegetables, meats and mixed foods. The hands-on class will also teach participants the basics of pressure canning and proper care of a canner. Each participant will pressure can their own jar of meat that they can pick up the day after the class.
The program is limited to 12 participants. The cost is $15 per person. Those interested are asked to call the office at (208) 476-4434 to register or send an email to clearwater@uidaho.edu to request more information.
Writer to give talk on benefits of beavers
MOSCOW — Environmental journalist and author Ben Goldfarb will speak Nov. 13 at the Clearwater Fly Casters meeting here.
Goldfarb, of Spokane, the author of “Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter,” will present a talk called “Beavers: Their Landscapes, Our Future.” The talk will highlight how landscapes have changed over the centuries and how beavers can help fight drought, flooding, wildfire, biodiversity loss and even climate change.
The meeting will be held at the Best Western Plus University Inn at 1516 Pullman Road, in Moscow. A no- host bar social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by a $16 buffet dinner at 6:30. Goldfarb will speak at 7:30.
IDFG, corporations ink land access agreements
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has finalized agreements with corporate timberland owners that allow recreational access to about 336,630 acres of private land in northern Idaho.
The agreements, first announced in May, include contracts with 12 companies in several states and took longer than expected to complete, according to a news release from the agency. The parcels covered by agreements add to lands already covered by an agreement with PotlatchDeltic that provides public access to 567,002 acres of the company’s timberland in northern Idaho.
The agreements came through Fish and Game’s “large tracts” land lease program that targets multiyear access to parcels 50,000 acres or larger. The department pays $1 per acre annually for the access, which includes hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife viewing, hiking and travel on roads open to full-sized vehicles.
People using the lands are reminded that there are different rules for use depending on the landowner, such as restrictions on camping and all-terrain-vehicle use, and it’s the user’s responsibility to know the rules. More details and links to rules for using the private timberlands and other private lands are available at https://idfg.idaho.gov/access.
Money for the leases comes from the department’s access/depredation fee that requires a $5 surcharge for residents and a $10 surcharge for nonresidents when they buy their first annual license of the year. The fees started in 2017, and allowed Fish and Game to dramatically increase the acreage in its access programs.
WDFW extends comment period on gray wolf plan
OLYMPIA — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has extended its comment period by about two weeks on a state plan to manage gray wolves once they are removed from state endangered species act protections.
The new deadline for comments is Nov. 15.
The department is using a multiyear State Environmental Policy Act process to develop a post-recovery wolf management and conservation plan. After Nov. 15, the next opportunity to comment will be when the agency issues a draft environmental impact statement, expected late next year.
“The current plan the department uses to guide wolf conservation and management was started in 2007 and developed over five years specifically to inform wolf recovery. Because wolves are moving toward recovery in Washington, it is time to develop a new plan,” said Julia Smith, the state’s wolf coordinator. “This is just the start of the process, so if you don’t get your input to us by Nov. 15, there will be more opportunities in 2020.”
Since 2008, the state’s wolf population has grown an average of 28 percent per year. With a minimum of 126 individual wolves, 27 packs and 15 successful breeding pairs during the last annual population survey, biologists are confident the state’s wolf population is on a path to recovery.
“Although it may be a few years before meeting wolf recovery goals, we want to proactively start the conversation about how we should conserve and manage wolves in Washington for the long term in our state, post-recovery,” Smith said.
More information, background and frequently asked questions on wolf post-recovery planning is on the department’s website at http://bit.ly/2JCjjwV.
An online survey and online commenting are available at http://bit.ly/2Yjc9ap where there is also a comment form that can be printed and mailed to the department. General comments can be sent through the U.S. mail to Lisa Wood, SEPA/NEPA coordinator, WDFW Habitat Program, Protection Division, P.O. Box 43200, Olympia, WA 98504. Comments submitted via mail must be postmarked by Nov. 15.
Marksmanship clinic is set for this weekend
LAPWAI — The Lewis-Clark Wildlife Club will hold an Appleseed Rifle Marksmanship Clinic on Saturday and Sunday at its public shooting range near here.
Marksmanship training will include the six steps to firing the shot, how to use a rifle sling, how to zero in a rifle and how to shoot properly from the various shooting positions. The training is open to anyone old enough to load and manipulate a rifle. Rifles may be centerfire up to 8 mm or .22 rimfire. A semiautomatic, .22 rimfire with adjustable sights or scope and adjustable sling is suggested.
Participants should bring a rifle and about 400 rounds of ammunition, eye and ear protection, a shooting mat or carpet piece to lay on and be willing to learn. Also included in the clinic will be a discussion on the story of April 19, 1775, and the start of the American Revolutionary War.
The cost of the training is $60 for adults and $20 for youth, active duty military and law enforcement officers, plus range fees of $15 per day per participant. The training starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs until 4-4:30 p.m. each day. Those interested may sign up or ask questions by contacting Griff Marshall at gmarshall@marshallmaterials.com or Robert Coons at (509) 780-2244 or darrangerc@cableone.net.
The Appleseed clinic will occupy the six-bench portion of the range on both days, leaving the other side open to nonAppleseed shooters.
