Felice Pace

Anna V. Smith’s report on the Klamath River fish kill in the July edition (“Ongoing fish kill on the Klamath River is an ‘absolute worst-case scenario,’” July 2021) mentions the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which failed to pass Congress. The report failed to note that, if it had become law, it would have locked in […]

I enjoyed learning about HCN’s history in the 50th anniversary issue (September 2020) and, in particular, Carl Segerstrom’s interview with Betsy Marston and Paul Larmer. I agree with Marston that regularly including Native journalists and issues is a welcome improvement and also that HCN should “start with the public lands, because everything flows from that.” […]

“Restoration’s crisis in confidence” (HCN, 8/6/18) is a breath of fresh air. For far too long not only restoration’s promoters but also the media, foundations and government agencies that fund restoration projects have ignored the movement’s inherent contradictions, as well as its failure to deliver the “restoration” that has been promised. The problem, however, is […]

With respect to the movement to create a state of Jefferson in far Northern California, the photo on the bottom of page 17 says all that needs to be said: Those promoting separation from California are overwhelmingly old folks. One was nodding out in the photo (“A Separatist State of Mind,” HCN, 1/22/18)! I’ve lived […]

In his Editor’s Note for the Dec. 11 issue, Paul Larmer repeats a widely held belief, writing that “neither side (“Republican lawmakers” nor “environmentalists”) is doing much to create lasting solutions on the ground that could help overcome a century of fear-based (fire) management in the West.” That is false. All over the West, grassroots […]

I am a member of one of those California Sierra Club chapters that Jonathan Thompson mentions in his excellent feature, “The Bid for a Big Grid” (HCN, 8/21/17). Our concern has been more about the fact that up to 25 percent of the power transmitted long distances via high-voltage power lines is lost during transmission. […]

In his editor’s note in the May 1 issue, (“Exploitation and the West”), Brian Calvert states a truth: “The same person who would eagerly exploit a human being will just as easily exploit a landscape.” This may seem obvious to younger readers, but for many decades the environmental movement did not get it; public-land activists […]

Thank you for Patricia Limerick’s essay on the complex sociology of the current conflict over oil and gas development (“Fractured,” HCN, 2/22/16). Learning from the past has not been one of the West’s strengths. Many Westerners seem as passionately devoted to ignoring or denying history as Ms. Limerick is to bringing history to bear on […]

Within the “Fall board meeting” note in the Oct. 12 edition, you mention “150 HCN fans” who “sparked a lively discussion on how climate change, fire suppression and exurban development have encouraged repeated megafires in our region.” The premise behind the statement, i.e., that Western wildfires are getting larger and more intense, is not supported by […]

“Plague on the Klamath” (HCN, 4/27/15) was good so far as it went. It did not, however, give readers a full view of salmon disease on the Klamath River, nor of water management and pollution issues related to disease outbreaks. Not mentioned, for example, is that most of the young salmon born in Klamath River […]

Rebecca Clarren’s excellent report on the exposure of Oregonians to herbicides sprayed by timber companies brings to mind a similar struggle by the state’s citizens in the late 1970s (“Fallout,” HCN, 11/10/14). Back then, a small group of women from Alsea, Oregon, who had suffered miscarriages after exposure to herbicides sprayed by the U.S. Forest […]