• Thursday, December 17, 2015 Section Editor Virginia Hutchins [ 208-735-3242 • vhutchins@magicvalley.com ] • B5
OUTDOORS
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWSPHOTOS
Steve Ross, right, an Idaho Department of Fish and Game senior conservation officer, checks the shotguns of waterfowl hunters Jon Adams, left, and Jason Titone during a patrol of the Snake River on Dec. 10 near Hagerman.
In Duck Hunt Season, Fish and Game Patrols Popular Stretch of Snake River VIRGINIA HUTCHINS vhutchins@magicvalley.com
AGERMAN • A tiny, disH tant flutter on the surface of the Snake River tells Clint Rogers where he’ll find the men he’s looking for. “The group that we heard shooting ducks is right on the tip of that island,” Rogers says, driving a 20-foot inboard jet boat slowly upstream. The flutter is a duck decoy with spinning wings, and the blind behind it conceals waterfowl hunters. In the boat with Rogers, Steve Ross has binoculars to his eyes. “I can see at least two heads, maybe three.” Both men wear gun belts and radios over their camouflage chest waders. Rogers is a district conservation officer and Ross a senior conservation officer for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. They’re in enforcement, but at heart their job is about fair chase and paying your share. Fish and Game’s Jerome office has 11 field officers to cover a region from Mountain Home to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, and from Galena Summit to the Utah border. Today, these two are patrolling one of the longest unbroken stretches of the Snake River in the region: between the Upper Salmon Falls hydroelectric dam and Kanaka Rapids. Waterfowl hunters come from all over the Western
Idaho Department of Fish and Game officer Steve Ross looks for waterfowl hunters on the Snake River.
Harvested ducks lie in the blind of waterfowl hunters Jon Adams and Jason Titone. U.S. to hunt this part of Idaho, Rogers says, and this particular stretch of water is one of the state’s most popular. In every encounter with a hunter, this team will check for an Idaho hunting license, a migratory bird permit and — if the hunter is 16 or older — a federal duck stamp. Also, has the hunter shot more than the daily limit? Does the shotgun have the required plug that limits loading to three shells? Is the hunter using illegal lead shot? When their binoculars are focused on hunting blinds, the officers take note of the boats camouflaged nearby and the color of the dogs waiting by the water
See a gallery of more photos from the boat patrol, on Magicvalley.com.
— both factors that help identify hunting parties. And they note who’s holding a gun. An unlicensed hunter, they know, might hand off a gun to someone else as they approach. “We’ll gather as much information as we can from a distance,” Rogers says. ••• This mor ning, the men in the island blind probably know something is up. They might recognize the Fish and Game jet boat.
Its slow approach is another tipoff that Rogers and Ross aren’t fellow hunters racing to claim a favorite blind. So when the officers have taken stock, Rogers accelerates — still keeping an eye on each hunter. “So nothing sneaks up on us,” he says. Approaching people with firearms calls for vigilant attention. On this gray December morning, the river and air are alive with ducks. But the flock in front of the blind has underwater lines leading from each floating “bird” back to shore. And the flock stays put when Ross climbs onto the bow of the jet boat to hail the hunting party, then wades ashore. It’s Jason T itone of
Wendell, Jon Adams of Hagerman and a black Labrador in a camo flotation vest. Their paperwork checks out fine. So do the nine dead ducks in their blind. Ross concludes the brief, friendly conversation with a tip for Adams: “You have a live shell there at your feet, just so you know.” ••• The jet boat’s progress upriver flushes ducks at every bend. Masses of webbed feet churn the water, and beating wings fly low. A bald eagle watches from a tree’s tallest dark branch, and herons rise delicately into the air. Where geothermal waters enter the river, they create strange plumes of steam. Just upstream of Box Canyon, Ross spots a strip of narrow red flagging hanging from a branch above the
water, where low-hanging limbs have been cut off. The flagging might mark the location of a muskrat or river otter trap. If so, the officers will check whether it’s a legal trap type, properly staked and properly labeled with the trapper’s information. When Ross wades along the bank and peers under the brush, he finds otter footprints but no trap. Perhaps the flagging was a leftover from last year. Near a commercial alligator farm, Ross spots red again — this time, a large insulated bag half-submerged at the river’s edge. Seeing nobody around, the officers don’t know what to expect. “I’m hoping not fingers or toes or anything,” Rogers says as Ross wades toward the bag and gingerly lifts it. Please see PATROL, B6
5 Reasons to Visit Thousand Springs State Park in Winter VIRGINIA HUTCHINS vhutchins@magicvalley.com
TIMES-NEWS FILE PHOTO
Alli Pratt, left, helps to train Steve Hutchins’ horse inside the equine arena at Thousand Springs State Park’s Billingsley Creek unit in 2013.
H AGERMAN • Maybe you’ve fished Crystal Lake, shopped the arts festival at Ritter Island and seen the wagon ruts on the Kelton Trail. But the incredible variety at Thousand Springs State Park means you have plenty of reasons to return when the snow flies. One explanation for that variety: The park consists of seven individual units with varied histories and topography. Another: The mild Hagerman Valley is
Next Week Next Thursday in the Times-News’ Outdoors section: five reasons to visit Massacre Rocks State Park in winter. a major stopover for birds on their winter migrations and a respite for winterweary humans. Here, five reasons to visit Thousand Springs State Park in winter:
1. Indoor Riding
Wind, snow or rain? That’s no reason to leave your horse in the barn.
The indoor horse arena in the park’s Billingsley Creek unit is completely enclosed, and it’s open year-round. Neglected in the summer — when Hagerman is too hot for indoor riding — the arena sees a sudden surge in activity when the weather turns nasty. Luxury is not too strong a word. The arena is open 7 a.m.
to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Park manager Dave Landrum sees youth and adults there, from beginners to professional riders. Beyond the park’s $5 vehicle entrance fee, you’ll pay no additional fee to use the arena. “All that we ask is that people clean up after their animals … turn out the lights and shut the door when they leave,” Landrum said. The wheelbarrow and manure rake are provided. Please see THOUSAND, B6
B6 • Thursday, December 17, 2015
No Bird Fest Registration Yet, but Plenty of Nordic Skiing
D
on’t worry, birders. You’re not yet in danger of losing out on the Hagerman Bird Festival. The festival — which sold out its inaugural run in February 2014 but didn’t make an appearance in 2015 — will return this winter and is set for Feb. 12-14, I reported last month. Since then, there’s been a lot of interest in early registration. No wonder. The 2014 Hagerman Bird Festival drew birders from across the country, sold out its 150 spots more than a week in advance and had to turn many people away. I talked to Christine Gertschen, coordinator of the 2016 festival, on Tuesday. This time, she said, registration will be capped at just 120 people. But nobody can register before Jan. 1, when the festival’s website will go live. You can’t do anything to sign up before then, Gertschen said — with a note of apology. “We’re way behind schedule, but we can only go as fast as we can go.” Next Thursday in the Times-News’ Outdoors section, I’ll give you details on the festival’s schedule of field trips and workshops. ••• Here’s something I never get tired of hearing. It’s immensely satisfying every time someone tells me that one of my stories inspired an outdoor adventure. This time it was my newest colleague in the newsroom, reporter Alex Riggins, saying that he and his wife wanted a winter hiking idea last weekend. So Alex looked up my February 2014 story on the Wahlstrom Hollow Trail in the South Hills and followed my directions to the Third Fork Trailhead (http://bit.ly/1NvkwPc).
VIRGINIA HUTCHINS, TIMES-NEWS FILE PHOTO
Roger Anderson, right, gives a cross-country skiing lesson during the High Desert Nordic Association’s Free Ski Day at Magic Mountain in January 2015. Anderson, a Sawtooth National Forest employee, volunteered his time for the club that day.
Virginia Hutchins Outdoors Editor
“I’ve done three of the hikes around there, and that was by far the best one,” he told me. Hike on, Alex! ••• Last week I told you about the annual Free Ski Day set for Jan. 2, when members of the High Desert Nordic Association lure newcomers into their sport by giving free instruction to people of all ages and loaning them skis, boots and poles for the day. Now the club has announced times for the event: It will start at 10 a.m. at the Magic Mountain Resort ski lodge, 28 miles south of Hansen on Rock Creek Road. The club will stop handing out loaner equipment at 2 p.m., but you’ll have until about 3 p.m. to return it, club member Dave Lentz said. The snow is looking good at the moment, but the Jan. 2 event still could be cancelled if there isn’t enough
snow on the ground. For information or updates, call 208-420-9042 or email skihdna@gmail.com. ••• I was excited to see the Facebook post from Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve on Monday: “Thanks to the foot of snow that we received from this last round of storms, grooming of the winter trail has commenced. We are all looking forward to some great skiing and snowshoeing this winter!” Count me in. By late November, Craters had enough snow to close its seven-mile loop road to vehicle traffic and eliminate the monument entrance fee for the winter. But some Nordic skiers (including me) really like groomed tracks. Now if we can just keep the snowshoers from walking across the ski tracks.
Virginia Hutchins is the enterprise editor of the Times-News and Magicvalley.com. Reach her at vhutchins@ magicvalley.com or 208735-3242.
Class to Cover Avalanche Basics ETCHUM • The Sawtooth Avalanche CenK ter will hold an “Avalanche Basics” classroom session 6-8 p.m. today, Dec. 17, at Ernest Hemingway Elementary School in Ketchum. Suggested donation is $5, and no preregistration is required. The center’s two-hour presentation introduces basic concepts about snow, avalanches
and traveling safely in and near avalanche terrain. Sun Valley Ski Patrol will discuss the recent avalanche accident in the Baldy out-ofbounds area. The classroom session is required in order to register for and attend an optional field session on Saturday, Dec. 19. Suggested donation for the field session is $40.
COURTESY OF CATHY WILSON
Cathy Wilson photographed eagles roosting in the Box Canyon area of Thousand Springs State Park in February 2014.
Thousand Continued from B5
2. Eagles Everywhere It’s time for Magic Valley nature lovers’ favorite winter spectacle. In amazing numbers, bald eagles and golden eagles roost in a big cottonwood tree near West Point Service, a store and cafe along West Point Road southwest of Wendell. They start gathering in early December and stay around until mid-March. As sunset approaches and the tree’s eagle count rises, you’ll often find cars parked along West Point Road, their occupants standing with binoculars and cameras pointed at the big birds. That’s the valley’s bestknown eagle tree, but not the only one. Along the Snake River Canyon rim south of Hagerman is a more scenic — and more solitary — spot to eagle watch. At 1500 E. 3400 S., near Wendell, you’ll find the parking lot for the Earl M. Hardy Box Canyon Springs Nature Preserve, a unit of Thousand Springs State Park. From there, walk about two-thirds of a mile to the overlook above Box Canyon. It’s a dramatic scene: Springwaters bursting from the canyon’s vertical walls form a river from nothing. But from late December through February, it’s also a prime place to find bald and golden eagles. On a cold morning, Landrum said, you might count up to 130 or 150 eagles at Box Canyon and the West Point store combined. Park
employees have counted more than a hundred on the irrigation pivot at Box Canyon alone. Early mornings are the best time, he said, as the sun rises. “And that’s one of the most beautiful parts of any day, too.”
3.Waterfowl Paradise It’s not all about eagles. The Hagerman Valley is paradise for winter waterfowl birding, too. At Thousand Springs State Park, try the Niagara Springs unit along the Snake River, or the Billingsley Creek unit along the creek. Landrum sees park visitors walking through the shrubs and along the waterline with binoculars. The park will play a role in the Hagerman Bird Festival on Feb. 12-14; a drafted schedule shows field trips in several of the park’s units. Watch the Times-News’ Outdoors section for details.
4. Come with a Camera Artists — with cameras or paintbrushes — find Thousand Springs State Park irresistible. “You’ll see people sitting out, especially along Ritter Island ... painting winter scenes,” Landrum said. The three classic scenes everyone photographs: Minnie Miller Spring in the park’s Ritter Island unit; Box Canyon from the springs’ mouth to the 20-foot waterfall; and a rock dubbed Devil in the Washbowl in the park’s Malad Gorge unit. The rock looks down into the gorge at Devil’s Washbowl, and winter lighting and snow make the
face stand out. You won’t have trouble reaching the Washbowl; it’s beside a walking trail accessed just off Interstate 84’s exit 147, where a supply of park brochures can point you in the right direction.
5. Quirky Shopping OK, this one isn’t about enjoying nature. But another reason to check out the park’s Billingsley Creek unit is the flea market that leases its “garden center” building every Saturday year-round. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., vendors offer homemade jams, jellies and pies; handmade knives; knickknacks; knitted and crocheted handiwork; and more. Landrum describes it as part flea market, part craft sale. Getting there: Thousand Springs State Park’s seven units are all within a short driving distance. A couple of units are right off Interstate 84 at exit 147, between Wendell and Bliss. A couple more are accessed by U.S. 30 at Hagerman. For three more units, you can exit I-84 at Wendell and use county roads to approach the Snake River. In short, you’ll want a map. To print maps of each park unit, look for the “Maps” link on the left side of Parksandrecreation. idaho.gov/parks/thousandsprings. Getting in: A daily $5 motor vehicle entry fee is required year-round — unless you have the $10 annual Idaho State Parks Passport available through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Just head for the unit you want; each one has a self-pay box.
Patrol Continued from B5
“Ah! Nice pair of shoes,” Ross reports. “Some Merrells. Kind of waterlogged.” Rogers asks quickly: What size? 10 1⁄2? It’s a joke. The bag is labeled with what appears to be an outfitter’s name and number, he says, so the Merrells will be returned. And someone will be asked why the shoes were in the river. “Not an Idaho area code, so kind of an interesting find,” Rogers says. What possibility is he entertaining? Watching for someone unlicensed but acting like an outfitter — accepting money to take people hunting — is always in the front of his mind. ••• The officers’ next find is interesting, too. Both men go ashore to check out a flatbed work truck tucked away in the brush beside the river — a suspicious location. “I don’t see anything in there that’s weird,” Ross says, looking through the truck’s windows. But a little farther up the bank, Rogers finds something under the bushes. “There’s a wasted deer up here, of all things.” Enough of the decomposing carcass remains to indicate that neither the front nor back quarte rs we re ta ke n . No t enough remains for Rogers to tell whether the deer died of a gunshot or was hit by a vehicle on the
Idaho Department of Fish and Game officers Clint Rogers, right, and Steve Ross check a suspicious vehicle while patrolling the Snake River on Dec. 10 near Hagerman.
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWSPHOTOS
Steve Ross, right, an Idaho Department of Fish and Game senior conservation officer, goes over new regulations with waterfowl hunters Kaleb Harnar, left, Matt Bingham and K.C. Pinther on Dec. 10 at the 1000 Springs Resort boat launch near Hagerman.
Duck decoys float on the Snake River near Hagerman. nearby highway. He’ll file an incident report anyway. It’s possible that this tidbit of information eventually could line up with something else in
the officers’ files. Even stranger: A few feet from the pile of deer hair and hooves is the wrecked body of a GMC Jimmy, lying on its side, propped
with a heavy stick and surrounded by trash. Many of the vehicle’s parts have been stripped away. A small corner of an Idaho license plate remains, caught in a bolt on the Jimmy’s front end. Fish and Game will report this find to the Twin Falls County sheriff. “You always have to be ready for whatever comes your way,” Rogers says. ••• Back on the water, a punishing rain pelts the boat and the wind whips up waves as Rogers struggles to maneuver toward a pair of sturgeon anglers on the riverbank. He’s trying to get close enough for Ross to step out without the wind
mashing the boat against the rocks. “The high cabin on this boat is killing me right now,” Rogers says. Wading isn’t an option here. This is a 50-footdeep fishing hole favored by huge sturgeon. “You guys picked a great time,” an angler hollers cheerfully from the bank, where he and his fishing partner are hunched over a small fire. Rogers tries approaching the bank from a different direction. Finally, the bow thumps against the rocks, and the angler helps hold it while Ross climbs out. These anglers — shielding their faces from the slanting rain as they pull out their fishing licenses — are indeed using the sliding sinkers and barbless hooks required for sturgeon fishing. ••• All morning, in fact, Rogers and Ross catch people doing the right thing.
Hours earlier, before even putting their boat in the water at 1000 Springs Resort, Ross checks the shotguns of three hunters preparing to launch. Rogers explains this year’s boundary change for a goosehunting closure and gives the men a rules brochure with a map. There’s no dog in this hunting party. “He’s this big,” K.C. Pinther of Twin Falls says, holding his hands close together. “So, next year.” On Pinther’s cap is a picture of Idaho, on its side, firing a bullet. On his face is what appears to be happy anticipation. The absence of his dog is occasion for a joke. “These guys have to be good at runnin’,” he says, gesturing toward Kaleb Harnar of Kimberly and Matt Bingham of Rupert. All three men get an allclear from the officers. “It’s easy being legal,” Harnar says.