Dear HCN,
Even as a wildlife
student in the early 1970s, I was appalled when I learned that a
400-pound animal that can survive without free water (the oryx) had
been introduced into the White Sands Missile Range (HCN, 10/22/01:
A graceful gazelle becomes a pest). The potential for an ecological
disaster seemed all too obvious.
Thirty years
later, it looks like the horror story has come true. Frank Hibben
ranks right up there (it’s really down there) with those
responsible for the introduction of the starling, the house sparrow
and the grass carp. He, along with the so-called biologists that
allowed this to occur, should be ashamed.
The
White Sands Missile Range and surrounding area should be renamed
the “Frank C. Hibben EGO-system.”
Gordon S. Lind
Sandy, Utah
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Oryx a predictable disaster.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
