Letter to the editor

As I read Adam Sowards’ perspective, “Where NEPA fell short” (January 2020), I reminisced about my long-ago days at the Environmental Protection Agency during the second term of EPA Administrator Bill Ruckelshaus (May 18, 1983, to Jan. 4, 1985). I disagree with the assertion that NEPA fell short. It did not. It was, and still […]

Brian Calvert’s recent commentary on the cowboy hat’s symbolism in the West is an accurate portrayal of the Trump administration’s values regarding non-whites in our society (“Worse for wear,” January 2020). However, one must be careful about conflating the ideas that Euro-American Manifest Destiny was in any way related to the creation of parks or […]

Thank you for the interview with Sergio Avila. It was informative and humbling about the many aspects of equity and social justice in preserving and exploring nature. —R. Gibbons, via email This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Humblingly informative.

As a reader and contributor since the 1980s, I’ve noticed a trend in the reporting. HCN used to be a paper about the Rocky Mountains, public lands and related issues. Now I see the paper becoming a periodical largely about social justice. The ultimate environmental issue — climate change — is presented as “climate justice” […]

In my mind, NEPA did not fall short, but we have (“Where NEPA fell short,” January 2020).  The only real requirement that NEPA provided was the environmental impact statement process, which gave citizens a process of public participation, review, and comment that was not optional. The reason that NEPA has not made more progress is […]

I’m more than a little dismayed by your interview with Sergio Avila and his great crusade to bring Mexicans into the outdoors (“Conservation justice,” February 2020). As a wildlife biologist and outdoor enthusiast, I’m offended and angered by the level of ignorance and pandering in this interview. If you wanted to get a sense of […]

Congratulations on the February issue of your redesigned publication. In it was an email from Patagonia criticizing an article. It also had a full-page ad from the company. Kudos to the magazine for running an article critical of an advertiser, and kudos to Patagonia for continuing to advertise. —John Kendall, via email This article appeared […]

Having read Mary Slosson’s review of Deep River (“Wading into murky waters,” 11/11/19), I picked up the novel from my local library against my better judgment. Imagine my surprise when I found, in lieu of the reactionary, stereotype-laden, and politically tone-deaf work described by Slosson, a novel focused on the struggles of working people in […]

I’ve been reading HCN for over 30 years and have always appreciated your coverage of issues concerning the American West. But lately, many of your articles have strayed into ultra-liberal and one-sided territory, failing to examine multiple points of view. One such article was January’s “Rent control.” Rather than portraying landlords as evil money-grubbers, look […]

It was wonderful to see Henry George in the pages of High Country News (“Gilded Age problems,” 12/9/19). Many of the myths and misunderstandings that have formed our idea of “the West” were partly conceived from a disconnection between economics and ecology or actual, physical life. George was incredibly forward-thinking, especially for his time, and […]

Cowboy hats don’t stay on in the wind (“Worse for Wear,” 1/20). You can’t wear them at a gallop, or on a motorcycle, or on a windy day, without a chinstrap. So they’re worthless for shade or during storms and hence have no practical value and serve as a symbol only. Too bad that symbol […]

“A Cherokee for Trump” and “Party Favors” (12/9/19) by Graham Lee Brewer and Will Ford seem bookends to each other, detailing really bad politics. Both portend a dismal outcome for our nation. In Brewer’s article, the Oklahoma congressman seems to enjoy contradictory support from his own fragmented people.(“There are a lot of conservative hardcore evangelical Cherokees who believe […]

The kindergarten/first grade class at the Idaho campus of Teton Science Schools’ Mountain Academy was thrilled to see your cover story about wildlife crossings (“Crossing to Safety,” 1/1/20). Throughout the fall and early winter, our class has been studying our local Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the animals that live here. Our focus turned towards animal […]

“How Big Rec picks its battles” (11/25/19) distorts Patagonia’s long-standing advocacy to protect public land. The reporter is right to care about border communities impacted by this administration’s grotesque policies and the lack of diversity in the outdoor industry; both are deeply concerning, and Patagonia is addressing them through direct action. But the implication that […]

Is this part of HCN’s new slick magazine approach (“Worse for Wear,” 1/1/20)? To keep reposting simplistic analyses of headgear? I kept thinking of the often-printed image of HCN’s founder, Tom Bell, and what he would have thought of your cowboy hat editorial. I understand what the editorial was trying to accomplish, but is this […]

In “Is Renewable Energy’s Future Dammed?” (11/25/19) Nick Bowlin asks an important question, but fails to mention some critical facts that we need to weigh when thinking about future hydropower projects. According to the National Inventory of Dams, maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers, there are 91,468 dams in the United States — the […]

The folks who have been in Wyoming for generations would probably prefer that the decisions about Wyoming’s future were left to them, rather than all the “wonderful schemes” those moving from other places have in mind. (“Coal state struggles,” 12/9/19). What they should do is charge an entrance fee for all the newcomers and tourists. […]

This profile of Markwayne Mullin (“A Cherokee for Trump,” 12/9/19) by Graham Lee Brewer is an incredible piece, and yet another example from High Country News as to why it’s crucial for Native reporters and editors to be hired to cover their own communities. —Nick Martin This article appeared in the print edition of the […]

It couldn’t be that the Transcontinental Railroad opened up thousands of square miles of land, connecting it back to civilization (“Gilded Age problems,” 12/9/19). It couldn’t be that it was an engineering marvel of its time. Nor could it have been an economic boom at the time. Nope, HCN just takes history and spins it […]

Jonathan Thompson aptly calls out Bureau of Land Management Acting Director William Perry Pendley’s big lie about the “existential threat” to public lands (“BLM chief ’s wild horse fixation,” 11/25/19).  Sadly, Thompson goes on to refer to the estimated 88,000 wild horses on public lands, stating that their “hooves trample and lay waste to big swaths of […]