Dear HCN,
There is a healthy dose
of irony in the Dec. 26 article regarding the battle between
Arizona’s Prescott College and Tonto National Forest over a
60-year-old cabin. This otherwise unnoteworthy controversy serves
to expose the major shortcoming, and in my mind, insincerity, of
the organized environmental movement.
Reporter
Peter McBride neglects to consider that there is as little (or as
much) reason for granting an extended special-use permit a priori
for the cabin as for conferring the same privilege to, for example,
a geothermal company seeking to drill an exploratory well on the
Tonto National Forest.
Where is a call for EIS
review to analyze the degree of site disturbance and soil erosion,
the potential for invasion by non-native and noxious plants, the
impact of increased motor vehicle traffic on wildlife and air
quality, and the result of diverting water from existing
hydrological system? The answer: Prescott College and supporters
seek the permit to maintain a private Shangri-La for the enjoyment,
and perhaps education, of an elite few at public
expense.
John
Gold
Mt. Vernon,
Washington
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Why should a college rate a cabin in a national forest?.
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