The Pend Oreille Chapter of the Idaho Master Naturalists announced its slate of classes for 2026, including topics such as native wildlife and plants, waterways, mountains and geology of the area.
An Idaho Fish and Game-sponsored organization, Idaho Master Naturalists has chapters throughout the state, who learn, spend time outdoors and participate in conservation projects. The local chapter holds its meetings and classes at the Waterlife Discovery Center in Sagle — otherwise known as the old fish hatchery — and was awarded Chapter of the Year at last fall’s statewide meeting.
Classes for 2026 will begin on Friday, March 27 with an introduction to the program, instruction in methods of wildlife documentation and the history of the Waterlife Discovery Center, and end in October with a mycology class and a mushroom foray.
Courtesy photo
Registration is open now for a fee of $65. All adult learners are invited to sign up, as are older youth on a case-by-case basis and with parental participation. Students participants are asked to contribute 40 hours of volunteer time to conservation and nature-related projects each year, with a significant portion of that time directed to the Waterlife Discovery Center as a docent or facility maintenance support.
Previous classes have included local river restoration projects, geology, ornithology, Ice Age floods, tree and plant identification field trips, the Kootenai Tribe’s hatchery efforts to reintroduce burbot and white sturgeon to the Kootenai River, the hydrology of the Rathdrum Prairie and more.
There will be opportunities to volunteer with IDFG throughout, working on projects such as surveying loon numbers, helping with pollinator programs, trapping invasive snapping turtles, building bee hotels and bluebird houses, planting streamside trees, and other nature and conservation projects.
Volunteers also assist schools with field trips to the Waterlife Discovery Center and help IDFG at “Take Me Fishing” events.
Representatives from the Master Naturalists are scheduled to present information on the chapter, classes and 2026 events at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, March 10 during a broadcast on KRFY 88.5 FM.
Get more information on the statewide Idaho Master Naturalist program at idfg.idaho.gov/master-naturalist. For more on the Pend Oreille Chapter, including news and events, visit bit.ly/PendOreilleChapter.
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