Brad Smith from the Idaho Conservation League has created a time lapse video from the photographs captured at one of our camera stations at night. Follow this link to watch the short video and see what animals followed their noses to our cameras!
You can watch more videos from ICL on their YouTube channel by clicking here.
The International Wildlife Film Festival is coming February 10 and 11 to Libby and Thompson Falls, respectively. Doors will open at 6:30 on Friday, the 10th at the Little Theater in Libby. A matinee is scheduled in Thompson Falls. Doors to the Rex Theater will open at 1:30 on Saturday, the 11th. Read more here.
Brian Baxter will be teaching another class on wildlife tracking and animal sign interpretation on February 20th in Heron, MT. This is a great course for anyone interested in winter ecology and the critters that call this region home. For more information and to sign up, contact Brian Baxter at b_baxter53@yahoo.com. Brian’s classes have been a huge hit this season, so don’t wait too long to sign up!
Keeping in the tradition of a monthly get-together for our Wolverine Project volunteers, we invite all our project participants to join us on February 3rd for Firkin Friday at Laughing Dog Brewery in Ponderay, ID. This will be a great opportunity to meet other volunteers and to share stories from your camera station adventures this winter. We’ll kick off the event at 5:00pm with a short project update and a summary of what we’ve accomplished so far. Come on out and enjoy Firkin Friday the wolverine way, and remember to wear your hats!
The annual Sanders County schools essay contest is concluded for the year, and the winners are from Plains, Paradise, Thompson Falls and Noxon. The top honors went to two eighth-grade girls, one from Plains, the other from Noxon. Read their winning essays here.
For those of you who have signed up to be monitoring station leaders this winter and were unable to attend our December 3rd training day, there are two additional trainings scheduled in the next week. Read more here to see the schedule and sign up.
Drag the snowshoes and skis out. The winter hiking season is coming at us quickly. First up (and already full) is the December 10 tracking hike with instructor Brian Baxter. But don’t despair. If you really have a hankering to learn what’s sharing the woods with you from the ground up, Brian will be teaching another class on January 14, as well as a winter ecology class in late January that we are awaiting details on. You can view our whole 2012 winter hike schedule here.
Here at the office we’re quickly gearing up for what promises to be a great season for wolverine “hunting” in the Idaho panhandle. Read more here.
Another look into winter is available on December 10 when wolverine and tracking expert Brian Baxter will lead a class on winter Inside class work will be at the FSPW office in Heron, Montana. Actually tracking will be done in the East Fork of Blue Creek at the southern end of the proposed wilderness. This class will be offered again on January 14. These classes are offered free by FSPW. There is a small charge ($5.00) for class materials.
To sign up for the class, contact Brian at b_baxter53@yahoo.com
And, they are on bottles of great wine at Pend Oreille winery. Click here to see the announcement!
Friends of Scotchman Peaks welcome Kelsey Brasseur to Sandpoint and FSPW. Kelsey will oversee the wolverine project this winter. Read more about Kelsey here. Friends will be able to put a face to the name on Monday, November 28th at the FSPW Sip-and-Shop at the Pend Oreille Winery (4:30 to 8:30 pm) or at the volunteer training on December 3rd. More about the training day will be announced soon.
The 4th Annual Scotchman Peaks Plein Air Paintout convened in Hope, Idaho, on September 23, 24 and 25, the first weekend of fall, with Kally Thurman’s Outskirts Gallery and the Hope Marketplace at the epicenter of activities.
Twenty-two avid and accomplished artists fanned out in and around our favorite wilderness, bringing 64 fresh paintings back to the Gallery Sunday for hanging, viewing, and judging. Read about it here
Thanks to everyone who donated to help us match the $3,000 grant from the Cinnabar Foundation. We appreciate it very much! And a big thanks to Cinnabar, too.
USFS Hydrologist (and tree planter) Kevin Davis sent us a nice thank you this week for FSPW volunteer help in planting trees on rehabilitated roads in Lightning Creek. Read his letter here.
Want to hunt for mustelids in the wilds of northern Idaho and western Montana? Can you think like a wolverine — without actually acting like one? Are you winter ready and ready to roll?
If so, you may wish to click on this link and take a gander at the job description. The timid may think twice about applying.
http://www.scotchmanpeaks.org/pdfs/Wolverine_Program_Job_Description.pdf
OK, you extraordinary critters. Be warned. We’re coming looking for you right shortly. You may not like it if we catch you, but we promise to let you go when we do.
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Conservation League, Selkirk Outdoor Leadership & Education, Selkirk Conservation Alliance and other community volunteers now have a much better chance of finding one of the most elusive creatures in the north woods, thanks to a grant from Zoo Boise. Read more here.
FSPW Program Coordinator Sandy Compton had a chance to hang out with fifth graders from all over Sanders County. A good time was had by all. Read all about it here.
Look for us at Radical Reels at the Panida Theater in Sandpoint on Thursday, October 13. Doors open at 5:30pm with films starting at 6:3o. Tickets are $12.00 in advance, $15.00 at the door and are available in at Eichardts, The Outdoor Experience, Maps and More and Burger Express located on Highway 2. In Bonners Ferry tickets are available at Far North Outfitters. Read more here.
Interested in volunteering with FSPW? Show your appreciation for keeping the environment pristine by volunteering to clean up the edges of Highway 200! More info here. Or, come walk a dog or two from the Panhandle Animal Shelter at the Sandpoint Farmers Market. Check it out!
Fiscal opportunity has come knocking. Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness can double their money once again, as the the Cinnabar Foundation has provided a matching grant to benefit FSPW. This year’s edition is in the amount of $3,000. For every dollar designated toward the match, up to the total of the grant, Cinnabar will match. Interested, keep reading…
Check out the trailers for two soon-to-be-released documentary films by Wildman Pictures about the Scotchman Peaks!
En Plein Air captures the experiences of artists during a 5 day trek through the mountains. Grass Routes tells the story of the Friends of Scotchman Peaks' efforts to achieve official wilderness designation for this scenic wild area. Don't miss them!
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