Conservation Northwest updates
Derrick Knowles Conservation associate,
dknowles@conservationnw.org
A first for the region
Guide to
Northeast
Washington
A new recreation guide highlight-
ing the wildlife and wild places of the
Columbia Highlands hit the streets of
northeast Washington in April. The
"Northeast Washington Wildlife Viewing and Recreation Guide" is a first for
this remarkable place. We hope it will
build local pride and encourage entrepreneurial attention on the recreation
and wildlife watching potential in this
extraordinary region.
The new guide showcases the Columbia Highlands' diversity of wildlife
and habitats and features its best local
wildlife viewing and non-motorized recreation opportunities. The idea for the
The new guide features 24 hikes and wildlife viewing areas.
guide garnered plenty of support early on in local communities, including Republic, Newport, Colville, and Kettle Falls,
where nearly two dozen businesses, chambers, and tourism
groups bought ads to help pay for printing 4,000 copies of the
40-page booklet.
The new guide focuses on hiking trails in the Kettle River
Range, Salmo-Priest Wilderness, and the Little Pend Oreille
National Wildlife Refuge, as well as lesser known trails and
wildlife viewing areas. It offers outings for people of all abilities, including handicap accessible paths and several auto tour
loops for families. It also highlights opportunities to view
wildlife and enjoy scenic backcountry on horseback in the
summer and on snowshoes and skis in the winter.
Many of the wildlife viewing and hiking opportunities featured in the guide are on the Colville National Forest, which
boasts an impressive list of birds and other wildlife in and
around this 1.1 million acre spread of public lands. Some of Riding along the
the more elusive critters that a visitor could hope to find on Wapaloosie.
the Colville National Forest include mountain caribou, griz- © Sheila Anderson
zly bears, wolves, wolverines, Canada lynx, moose, bighorn
sheep, golden-mantled ground squirrels, great gray owls, golden eagles, and dozens
more bird species.
Over the next few months, we are delivering copies of the guides to local businesses and information and tourism bureaus. I will be talking to the press and giving presentations to community groups around northeast Washington about the guides and
how they can help draw more visitors to the region to enjoy gorgeous natural assets
and to support local restaurants, hotels, stores, and other businesses along the way.
A special thank you goes to the businesses who advertised in the guide. Thanks also to
freelance writer and photographer Aaron Theisen for authoring the guide; Erin Moore,
Shallan Knowles, and Derrick Knowles for their editing, design, and layout work; all the
photographers who donated the use of their images; and Digital Documents of Republic
for doing an amazing job of printing these beautiful booklets.
Hot off the press for summer!
Pick up your copy of this free new guide to the places and people of
northeast Washington. Email us at info@conservationnw.org or find it online at
conservationnw.org/flipbooks
Keeping the Northwest wild
Spring-Summer 2013
9
