Outdoors

Here's the latest from 1960 Olympics host resort, Squaw Valley. I'm sure much of the same can be said for other resorts. My Carson Cirty patio got about two feet of snow over the last couple of days. Maybe I'll get my x-c skis out and try the rose garden run!

— Sam Bauman

With around 5 feet of fresh snow falling around Lake Tahoe this week, the Mt. Rose ski area has begun a couple of Monday options worth considering.

If you buy a teen lift ticket online through www.skirose.com, you can save $12 off the regular rate at the window.

In separate offer, present your previous Saturday or Sunday lift ticket to receive a Monday ticket for only $29. No weekend ticket?  Mt. Rose will still sell you a ticket on Monday for only $39.

These offers are valid Feb. 21 and every Monday during the rest of the season. 

Seven fun-loving people from this area spent last Saturday and Sunday, February 12-13, traveling on the Amtrak passenger train between Reno and Sacramento, Calif.

--See Don Q's Outdoor report

Those seven were: Mary Bottoms, Bob “Slick” and Lynda McCulloch, Elaine and I, all of Carson City; and Sal and Catali Quilici of Dayton.

Here is the Fishing Report for the week of Feb. 16-23:

ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF:
Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530) 365-7500 www.shastacascade.com reported:
Current water surface temperatures are at 35.5 degrees with water clarity at 7.5 feet. It has been sunny all week as forecasted. With the afternoon highs moving into mid to low 50s, and more sunshine is on the way, with the next possibility of some rain near mid week.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
The public is invited to testify at an upcoming public meeting about salmon populations and the 2011 ocean and river salmon fisheries.

The 2011 Salmon Information Meeting, sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), will be held March 1 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency Building located at 404 Aviation Boulevard in Santa Rosa.

By GrandViewOutdoors.com
The battle to rid Alexander Creek of salmon-munching northern pike may escalate into a war next summer. More pike will be targeted by state biologists after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was awarded $635,000 from the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund for a four-year program to kill pike.

That supplements $127,000 in state money devoted to the project.

By GrandViewOutdoors.com
A federal agency has announced $23 million to protect grasslands in Wyoming, Colorado and Montana for sage grouse, a chicken-sized bird whose males are known for flashy mating displays.

It would be offered as matching funds, with state, local and tribal governments or non-government agencies providing the other $23 million.

By GrandViewOutdoors.com

Some Idaho hunters who prefer to mount all-terrain vehicles to pursue their big-game quarry are chafing at Department of Fish and Game restrictions on where they can ride.

Under current hunting regulations, the state requires armed hunters who head out onto public land in about a third of Idaho's 99 hunting units to stick to established roads, while keeping away from off-road vehicle or jeep trails and areas that are otherwise open to unarmed recreational ATV riders.

By The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is bringing the world elk calling championships, along with the annual convention and expo called “Elk Camp,” back to the Reno/Sparks Convention Center, March 3-6, 2011.


This year marks the 27th annual RMEF Elk Camp & Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Expo—the organization’s largest annual fundraiser for its conservation programs.


By The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Amateur and professional elk callers from across the United States will converge on Reno for the RMEF/Leupold World Elk Calling Championships, March 4-5, 2011.


Preliminary rounds begin March 4 at 9:00 a.m., and championship rounds begin March 5 at 9:00 a.m., at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center.
The championships are a centerpiece of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s annual Elk Camp & Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Expo.

Here is the Northern Nevada and Sierra area sports and outdoor calendar for the remainder of February:

Feb. 16 – Regular monthly meeting of the High Sierra Fly Casters Club in Douglas County at 7:00 p.m. at the Carson Valley Methodist Church, 1375 Centerville Lane in Gardnerville.
Call Bob Taormina at (775) 265-9159.

Feb. 28 – Closing day of the 2010-2011 Nevada Falconry hunting season.
Call the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) in Reno at 688-1500 or go to www.ndow.org.

For the Northern Nevada and Sierra sports and outdoors men and women out there, here is the Outdoor Calendar for February:

Feb. 12 – Opening day of the 2011 fishing season at the Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds near Yerington.
This season closes on Sept. 30.
Call the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) in Reno at 688-1500 or go to www.ndow.org"

Feb. 12 – Opening day of the 2011 fishing season at Hinkson Slough on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area near Yerington.
This season closes on Sept. 30.

By Nevada Department of Wildlife
Hunters hoping to draw a wild turkey tag for Nevada's 2011 spring hunting season shouldn't wait much longer.

The deadline for submitting tag applications is 5 p.m. February 15, and they must be delivered through a postal service.

In order to apply, hunters must have a license valid March 1, 2010 through Feb. 28, 2011. But they can purchase a 2011-12 hunting license online as part of the application process.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
From nuisance black bears and increasing salmon numbers to automated license sales and poaching arrests, 2010 was a busy year for the California Department of Fish and Game.

A popular new reality show airing on the National Geographic Channel, “Wild Justice,” is capturing some of the department’s doings, but far more happens behind the scenes.

The Ormsby Sportsmen’s Association (OSA), a local sportsmen’s club for hunters and fishermen will hold its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday evening, Feb. 15.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the public meeting room at the Carson City Sheriff’s Office at 900 East Musser Street. Use the door on the west side of the building.

Anyone who is interested in hunting or fishing is invited to attend all club meetings and functions.

OSA dues are $5 annually for adults and $2.50 for youngsters under the age of 16. There are currently 221 paid-up members.

Story by Grand View Outdoors.com

Federal wildlife officials said Tuesday they have counted a total of 50 endangered Mexican wolves on the Arizona-New Mexico border, up from 42 wolves a year earlier.

The Fish and Wildlife Service's southwest regional director, Benjamin Tuggle, said the figure from last month's annual survey includes 29 wolves in Arizona and 21 in New Mexico.

Researchers determined there are two pairs of breeding wolves.

Story by Grand View Outdoors.com
North Dakota wildlife officials say an annual midwinter survey has found only about 7,300 Canada geese wintering on the Missouri River.

That's down dramatically from 25,400 in last year's survey.

But the state Game and Fish Department says this year's count might be underestimated because of poor lighting conditions the morning of the survey and the tight flocking behavior of roosting geese.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
Southern sea otters recently passed two grim milestones, report wildlife officials, demonstrating that the threatened marine mammal is not faring well in California waters.

According to a preliminary summary, 2010 broke the record for the number of southern sea otter carcasses recovered in one year, with a total of 304.

The California Department of Fish and Game has successfully returned two California black bear yearlings to the remote wilderness near Truckee. Both female cubs were orphaned last summer.

One cub was illegally dumped last June on the front porch of Ann Bryant, executive director of the BEAR League. Weighing only 12 pounds, the cub was emaciated and starving.

Here is the greater Northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Cascade and Northern California fishing report through Feb. 16, 2011.

BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF:
Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (866) 694-2930 www.woodfordsstation.com reported: The road is closed for the winter.

CAPLES LAKE, CALIF:
John Voss of the Caples Lake Resort (209) 258-8888

This Saturday, Feb. 12, is the opening day of the 2011 fishing seasons for the following waters in Lyon County:

— The Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds, near Wabuska.
— Applicable open waters (Bass Pond, Beaver Slough, Crappie Pond, Hinkson Slough, North Pond and the Walker River), all on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area (MVWMA), near Yerington.

All of the waters listed above will close on Sept. 30. If you are interested in fishing at any of those waters on Opening Day, here is some miscellaneous information:

Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds:

We are honored to welcome outdoor writer and editor Don Quilici to the pages of Carson Now.

Quilici's stories and photos will be featured every Wednesday on our new Outdoors Page.

Don Q is famous around these parts to anyone who hunts or fishes. He was the outdoor editor for the Nevada Appeal for 22 years, and his weekly columns delighted readers regardless of their abilities with a gun or rod.