Dear HCN,
I am amazed to read that
you still are hanging on to the totally erroneous concept that you
printed several years ago about the land exchanges Dean Bibles did
in Arizona (HCN, 5/16/94). One would think that after many savings
and loans went bankrupt due to their “paper” values and
transactions involving the public land they acquired in these
exchanges, that you and most other thoughtful people would admit
that the establishment of the San Pedro tract is a wonderful
national asset.
Dean accomplished several other
public-interest exchanges while he was state director in Arizona,
highlighted perhaps by the Empire/Cienaga Riparian area where the
local zoning had approved a large development of homes and a golf
course complex with the water right being transferred to mining
activities. Today, the area is under BLM management and contains
some seven endangered species. It is also very distressing to hear
of Secretary Babbitt’s comments about Dean, reported by you,
knowing that the secretary was the governor in Arizona at the time
of these exchanges and was very supportive of Dean’s
efforts.
I have come to enjoy the HCN as most of
your articles have some sense of balance to them. Each public-land
issue has more than one side and HCN often makes the effort to
“paint” both sides. Your reporting of the BLM Summit is an
exception. It is libelous for you to blame Dean for trying to
clearcut Oregon when he went to Oregon as the state director after
the lawsuits had been filed and where he completed the new 10-year
plans. These plans later became the “base” for the president’s
plan.
Please keep that balance; without it you
can do a tremendous disservice to the career professional
public-land manager.
George
Lea
McLean,
Virginia
George Lea is
president of the Public Lands
Foundation.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline You trashed a fine public servant.
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