A DASH OF HOPE
Just read your package about the “Smokehouse Collective” (January 2024), and I loved it. What a beautiful message, one that I needed. Too often I stop reading stories about the climate crisis, because honestly it breaks my heart. But this story offered something different — optimism, community, hope. Thank you. Great effort by Emily Sullivan and Joaqlin Estus, and much appreciated.
Van Williams
Anchorage, Alaska
GUIDI IS A MASTER
Ruxandra Guidi’s writing is prize-winning journalism (along with Bear Guerra’s photos). I have read Guidi’s work in High Country News for as long as she’s written for you, but “Marsh Matters” (January 2024) is a masterpiece.
Bob Skaggs
Jackson, Wyoming
INHOSPITABLE RIVERS
Kori Suzuki’s article “California’s Central Valley chinook are getting lost on their way home” (November 2023) is an excellent read and well researched. However, the emphasis on trucking misses the forest for the trees. The fundamental threat to salmon comes from federal and state water policies that have compromised the survival of salmon runs already deprived by dams of most of their ancestral spawning habitat.
The problem is that rivers have become inhospitable to salmon. Yes, trucking salmon leads to an increase in straying, i.e., “getting lost.” Salmon stray naturally, although the rate increases with trucking. But survival dramatically increases.
I would gladly see the trucking of hatchery salmon eliminated in exchange for healthy, productive natural habitat with adequate flows. Unless and until that happens, trucking keeps the population alive. In the meantime, we need to keep the salmon runs from disappearing altogether.
Marc Gorelnik
San Francisco, California
FACTS AND FIGURES FOR FEATURES
My favorite column each month is Jonathan Thompson’s “Facts and Figures,” but I’m often frustrated by the total inadequacy of the two-page format for important stories. A recent example was “Clean Energy Boom” (October 2023).
Since you introduced “Facts and Figures” a few years ago, I can’t recall any feature articles that could be considered quantitative or semi-technical; a two-page format is no substitute for feature articles. I searched through some old features for an example of what’s currently missing and found Thompson’s 10-year-old article, “Haywired” (5/27/13). This nine-page feature does a deep dive into the complexities of our electrical grid and the challenges of adapting to a warmer climate. Consider bringing back such feature articles, as this type of important information has relevance to the general public but is often found only in specialized publications.
Neil Snyder
Evergreen, Colorado
IDENTITY AND JOY
Growing up queer in the rural Black Hills of South Dakota, I often didn’t feel I belonged despite the natural queerness that existed all around me and surely had a hand in shaping me into the person I’ve become. Perspectives like those in Miles Griffis’ column, “Confetti Westerns,” are important for this reason. When a few playful gray jays follow me on hikes through the woods, I’m reminded of the joy that comes with my identity; when a cold and rainy spring gives way to the most wildflowers I’ve ever seen, I’m reminded of the perseverance to thrive by those who have been marginalized. I so appreciate HCN and Griffis for casting light on and celebrating the queerness that exists in people and their natural environments.
Nathan Steele
Custer, South Dakota
HOUSING IS THE ANSWER
The article about a new park in North Denver and residents’ fears of displacement (“Green Acres,” December 2023) let the people with the most responsibility off the hook — those who block new construction in wealthier Denver neighborhoods.
If you build enough housing elsewhere in the region, young new residents will have no need to push into established communities like Globeville Elyria-Swansea.
Nobody should have to fear a project that makes their neighborhood a better place to live.
Nick Hagerty
Assistant professor of economics, Montana State University
Bozeman, Montana
ENCOUNTERING ART
Sterling HolyWhiteMountain’s “We must go beyond it” (November 2023) is perceptive, personal and compelling. He reminds us that the power of art when first encountered depends on our previous experiences and current mindset, both influenced by former teachers, other mentors, even personal setbacks.
Whether it’s McCarthy’s Blood Meridian or any other finely crafted work, its initial impact is a “perfect storm” in time and place of the work itself and what we bring, knowingly or not, to the moment. Later reactions may evolve, but their roots in the first one remain.
John Whitmer
Bellingham, Washington
We welcome reader letters. Email High Country News at editor@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Letters to the editor, February 2024.
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