Jim Gerber

Instead of giving us a hypothetical letter, why not call the presidential candidates and ask them where they stand on Western issues, and then tell us (HCN, 1/21/08)? You could have played an important role in informing us about where the candidates stand on the issues. I believe the most important challenge in the West […]

The editors of HCN claim the Bush administration (and therefore everyone who voted for him) are out of touch with “Westerners” on environmental issues. I would argue that the environmental community is out of touch with Western values. A small crack formed between environmental interests and the rest of America in 1994 when the Republican […]

The article by Jon Christensen about conservation easements was very interesting, but failed to mention a few important points about easements (HCN, 3/29/04: Who will take over the ranch?). One, conservation easements are made in perpetuity. Forever is a long time. If you need a heart transplant in 10 years, or college tuition for the […]

Andrew Gulliford opines that Theodore Roosevelt, if he came back today, would be flabbergasted by the Interior Department’s recent decision to jettison years of study on BLM wilderness areas (HCN, 10/13/03: Where’s Teddy when you need him?). I’m not so sure. Roosevelt certainly knew and respected John Muir, and supported his vision to preserve and […]

Dear HCN, Ed Marston believes that a reborn Department of Interior under Bruce Babbitt has led America out of the darkness of greedy natural resource extraction interests and into the warm sunlight of enlightened environmentalism

Dear HCN, Ed Marston writes that the war between extractive interests and the environmental movement is drawing to a close and the enviro movement won (HCN, 4/10/00: Beyond the Revolution). Like the person who reads about his death in the paper, reports of the demise of extractive interests are greatly exaggerated. We will always have […]

Dear HCN, I disagree that President Clinton’s 40 million-acre roadless area proposal represents “uncharted territory: (HCN, 11/8/99: A new road for the public lands). We have already done what the president wants – been there, done that! Each national forest has been through at least one forest plan. In that process we looked at each […]

Dear HCN, The revised White River Forest Plan does not sound that different from the revised Targhee Forest Plan, so it is not all that precedent-setting (HCN, 1/17/00). The Targhee Forest Plan closed 93 percent of the forest to motorized use of any kind, including all summer cross-country ORV use, eliminated nine livestock allotments, set […]