High Country News could devote an
entire issue to examining the cultural diversity of the West. Or,
as you did, print just three of the responses to “Last Chance for
the Lobo” (HCN, 1/21/08). The two letters from
Reserve, N.M., remind me of the quote, “It is better to remain
silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove
all doubt.” In order to prove author John Dougherty wrote an unfair
and biased article, Jess Carey writes a hate-filled letter
attacking the author for calling him a “rabid” opponent of the wolf
and implying that anyone who supports wolf reintroduction hates him
and all the innocent children of Reserve. Marnie Ashby is “really
sick of those who don’t even live here shoving these … animals in
every orifice in their body.” I’m sure Ms. Ashby is also sick of
the fact that I, as a taxpayer and a citizen, have the same right
to determine the management of “our” federal land as she does.
Perhaps she would be less sick if she moved to a place that isn’t
completely surrounded by “our” federal land.
Wayne Hare
makes reference to Catron County’s visceral hatred of the federal
government. I believe part of the problem is the heavily subsidized
grazing program. I know enough about psychology to know that
dependency creates resentment. The hidden message from Catron
County is the message of an angry child to the parent: “I don’t
want to be told what to do but I want your money.” Finally, if
someone can explain to me why a bovine that evolved in the moist
meadows of Europe has a greater right to be on the arid public
lands of the West than the native wolf, I’m willing to read or
listen. Until then, I’ll just keep eating native buffalo.
Jim Wilkinson
Boulder, Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Ah, diversity ….
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