Letter to Editor:Once again irresponsible motorcycle outlaws have ruined efforts on Blue Mountain Recreation Area to rehabilitate past motorcycle hill climbing damage.  The damage includes new vertical ruts that will funnel runoff water causing even more erosion damage in the future.  The rehabilitation of past motorcycle damage at this site cost the public $36,000, including hand erosion control, seeding, and mulching.The Missoula Ranger District has tried to accommodate off-road motorized ...

by Jim PosewitzIn the beginning, humans hunted to live. Today some still live to hunt. Originally it was a matter of survival to utilize what was killed. Today, using what is killed is essential to ethical hunting.After you have taken possession of the animal you have killed and taken time to appreciate it, it is then time to care for your gift. The task at hand will vary. For some animals it is simply a matter of putting it into your game pouch and continuing. For big game there is field ...

by Phillip WattsYou've probably heard it before–to find the best hunting, get off the beaten track and go where the crowds don't go. This is sound advice, because elk have learned to avoid areas with lots of human activity, especially during hunting seasons. And elk range over large areas so sometimes you need to cover a lot of country to find them. But where do you begin?First, you'll have to acquire some basic wilderness navigation skills. These skills will make you a better hunter–you'll ...

by David CronenwettIf all else fails – your equipment, the weather, your sense of direction – it is still possible to emerge unscathed from a wilderness emergency if you master basic fire craft.My teaching experience has shown me that most backcountry travelers are not competent fire makers. Fire building, like all other skills, must be practiced frequently and in varying environments and conditions.Here's a test I give my students: Take one strike-anywhere match, a sharp knife, and – using ...

by Mike Beagle My 8-year-old daughter and I recently stood at the bottom of a brushy, 300-foot cliff and talus slope over looking Blue Lake in southern Oregon's Sky Lakes Wilderness.For me it was a short climb. For a little girl much smaller than me, the hill looked downright colossal.But I knew something about my daughter that she is only beginning to learn: her potential.As a high school teacher and coach over the last 15 years, I have made some disheartening observations regarding ...