A time of flowers blooming, streams
running high, and varied thrush making
announcements from the tops of tallest trees, a time when people are
wondering what to do with extra hours of daylight for by the end of Spring, Lincoln County residents
have daylight until 11pm !
To the fisherman it means ice is soft and unsafe on lakes, and the big
river is perhaps the only place to fish, even though insect hatches have
not really begun. In many tributaries the spawning runs begin now, and the
gravels of streams feeding the two rivers and reservoirs serve as important
resources. Most streams and lakes of the Forest harbor fish, usually
trout, and seasons and regulations for fishing them are set by the State
Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.
Usually the first lakes to be ice free for recreation use are those low
elevation areas such as Thompson Lakes, Bull Lake, and a few others.
The high lakes, and indeed most of the high country, are snow and ice
covered until late spring. Often the hardy cross-country skier can be
skiing the high basins of the Cabinet Mountains and the Ten Lakes and
Northwest Peak Scenic areas through sunny days in May while gardens are
being planted in the valleys.
Down in the valley bottoms, hungry bears are searching for new grasses,
and those birds and mammals that have spent the winter on the Forest are
now regaining energy lost in winter's cold and snow. 
This
is critical time for deer and elk, for they need an abundance of food, and
the quest for it often carries them down near man where they are
vulnerable to man-caused stress such as off road vehicles and dogs.
Spring is usually the best time for viewing and photographing wildlife on
the Kootenai. Bighorn mountain sheep are often visible on the south slopes
of Berray Mountain in the Bull River Valley, in addition to the Kootenai
Falls herd and a smaller group along Koocanusa reservoir near Sheep Creek.
Deer and elk can be seen in the spring in these same areas, as well as the
lower Fisher River, Wolf Creek, Pleasant Valley, and areas along the Clark
Fork River.
With the exception of low elevation southern exposures, nearly all of the
Forest is blanketed with snow most winters. As this snow melts and the
ground beneath thaws, movement begins. Not only surface water moves, but
soils, rocks, and the very trees themselves. During this spring "breakup"
driving on many of the soft native-surface roads can cause considerable
damage to the road.
As
snow banks disappear and long days of sunshine begin warming the soil, the
valley bottoms and lower slopes come alive with a variety of wild flowers
and the wonderful morel mushrroms. Usually first are the buttercups of
field and open woods, followed closely by glacier lilies, bloodroot and
shooting stars. After these first early blossoms, a continuous
progression of colorful flowers offers itself to the photographer and
traveler in Forest valleys. Picking these flowers is lawful on most
Forest lands; however, many species will be less numerous the next season
if picked. Morel mushrooms may be picked via paid permit from the US Forest
Service.