Outdoors briefs for November 10, 2011

Whitefish Mountain Films is Sunday

WHITEFISH, Mont. - BlueBird Guides, a Whitefish-based backcountry ski guiding company, has announced the third annual Whitefish Mountain Films will be held Sunday, Nov. 13 at The O'Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish, where amateur and professional mountain films will be screened.

This year professional athletes Jamey Parks, Julian Carr and Chris Rubens are slated to attend this event and introduce some of the industry's most talked-about films.

The event is free and open to the public and all ages, with donations accepted. Local and corporate sponsors have donated to a raffle of goods and services.

Proceeds from the raffle and food and drink purchases will benefit trail projects of the First Best Place nonprofit organization Black Star Beer is sponsoring a beer garden.

"The way the Flathead has embraced our film event has been amazing - from the sponsors to the filmmakers and everyone who has attended," said BlueBird Guides Owner Greg Franson. "I couldn't be happier with the opportunity to grow this event into something on par with other regional film festivals."

Accused poacher waives hearing

SANDPOINT - A Priest River man accused of poaching a bull moose last year and trading its meat waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Nov. 2.

Duane Allen Kennedy was arraigned in 1st District Court on Nov. 7. He is alternately charged with either shooting the animal without a hunting tag or unlawfully possessing its meat. He is also charged with trading some of the meat.

Kennedy, 53, was charged after an Idaho Department of Fish and Game investigation initiated by an anonymous tip on the Citizens Against Poaching hotline.

Kennedy told investigators another hunting party at the Priest Lake Experimental Forest wounded the animal, but he admitted finishing off the animal and packing out the meat, according to court documents.