THE TRUE COST OF A BURGER
I loved the statistics in “Cattle country” (May 2024), especially the money breakdown, because it reveals how much we’re spending to help unsustainable big corporations trash our environment when we choose to buy irresponsible beef from big-box stores, as well as how much of our tax dollars support this destruction, whether we like it or not. That beef might look cheap, but it’s not when we consider the underlying cost. Pay me now, or pay me later.
Julie Smith
Golden, Colorado
AN ELECTRIFYING READ
Just finished reading Jane C. Hu’s feature, “Lights Out” (May 2024). What a great read, a sobering reality and an individually hopeful finish to the story. Thank you.
David Hayslip
Enterprise, Oregon
TROUT UNLIMITED HELPED
“Undamming the Klamath” (May 2024) ignores the key role played by other stakeholders, in particular Trout Unlimited, whose core mission is to conserve and rehabilitate cold-water fisheries. Trout Unlimited is fighting to take down dams around the country, and for years has pinpointed the Klamath because of its role as one of the great salmon and steelhead rivers of the West.
Jeffrey Marshall
Trout Unlimited, Headwaters board member
Scottsdale, Arizona
SHARING THE SURPLUS
In May 2024’s “Heard around the West” you ran a story about the moose that was killed during the Iditarod. Apparently, such animals fall under Alaska’s “road kill” program, which distributes the meat from road- and train-killed moose to the community. Residents put their name on a list and get a call when it’s their turn. Even when you want the meat, though, it can be quite a challenge to suddenly get a whole moose, along with the chores involved getting it all home and cutting it up for the freezer, with no warning.
My friend has family in Alaska. His daughter has a place on the river, quite close to where Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey killed the moose. Their neighbor got the call to come get the Seavey moose and immediately offered to share half of it, an offer that was promptly accepted.
Eloise Twining
Ukiah, California
REMEMBERING BARRY
Thank you for “The Color of the River is Light” (April 2024) and reflections on Barry Lopez by Terry Tempest Williams. It was beautifully written; it brought back his spirit for those of us who miss him, and introduced this amazing writer to High County News readers who didn’t grow up with him. I had a much less complicated relationship with Barry — a reader, a fan. I sent him fan letters. He always responded (old-fashioned typewriter, stuff crossed out). Once I stood in line, and he signed Of Wolves and Men, “To Bart … who tries. …” I didn’t have a clue what he meant.
Barton Eberwein
Portland, Oregon
BRINGING BACK MEMORIES
The April issue struck “home” for me in more than one article.
Daniel Anderson and his “drone-flying management” of livestock had many references that I could personally relate to, as I was a range rider back in the 1980s in Idaho (“Managing predators from the sky”). When a person is out with the livestock daily and committed to the resource, then ranching can remain viable in the long term. Ranching is a privilege, not a right on our public lands.
“The complex case of growing native plants” is another journey down memory lane. I grew up not far from the Tohono O’odham Nation on the south side of Tucson, Arizona, where I attended various festivals and ceremonies at the San Xavier Mission. Plants for restoration projects has been my passion.
Thank you for the reporting and content which relates to many aspects of my adult journey. High Country News deserves more thanks than I can express.
Heidi Chapman Supkis
Bend, Oregon
NON-HUMANS MATTER, TOO
“Highways of hazard” (March 2024) kill people and wreck communities — absolutely true! Thanks for bringing this to our attention. But there is no mention of how cars and highways kill wildlife and wreck their communities. Do we only value human lives? We need more wildlife crossings and migration corridors. We used to limit our driving to necessary work, carrying heavy loads, buying supplies, etc. In city areas, use transit or bike when possible and walk more.
Helen Bourne
Encinitas, California
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