Letter to the editor

In the most recent issue of HCN, I read a blurb that claimed that an organization called the Melanin Base Camp was accusing the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics of racist “gatekeeping” and of perpetuating “purity tests” (“Five reasons to keep geotagging”). As one who began reading HCN in 1974 and who has […]

I lived in Roswell for 14 years, worked at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, and have a much less skewed view of Roswell than the authors of the article “Atomic Road Trip” (HCN, 5/13/19). The arts scene in Roswell is quite substantial, with four museums, active galleries, the New Mexico Military Institute and Bitter […]

Fine, fine, fine. I just subscribed to a couple years of the magazine, thanks to this story — largely because I should’ve done it a while ago and just never got around to it. Mark OlaldeWashington, D.C. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Sign me up.

It’s sad reading examples of religion bringing suffering to people’s lives (“The queer Mormon policy reversal is not enough,” HCN, 5/27/19). I was relieved near the end of the commentary to read that the author was no longer a practicing Mormon. Members of a church may think of themselves as devout and moral, but most […]

Interesting reaction to “The Atomic Road Trip” (Letters, HCN, 5/27/19). Don’t be so defensive. The essay focused on the sanitization of human history and the commercialization of most everything. The “Land of Enchantment” has everything to do with people. I love New Mexico. The best we can do is to be inconspicuous and unpretentious. Doug […]

I so enjoyed being introduced to the Nizhoni Girls’ music and story (“Nizhóní Girls,” HCN, 2/4/19). The decision by HCN to dive into a medium rarely seen in reporting made me think more deeply about what exactly journalism is, and why some forms might be unfairly thought of as less rigorous, less serious, or less […]

In 1971, we became irresponsible and emotional and legislated the National Wild-Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act. Wild horses and wild burros were made into political giants not to be managed carefully on public lands. The program was twofold: Leave horses and burros to graze feely on the public lands, and if the numbers increased […]

Thanks for putting “wild” in quotes in the article “Arizona’s Wild Horse Paradox” (HCN, 3/18/19). Could you either do that in the title next time, or better yet, refer to the animals as feral, which is what they actually are? Romanticizing them just makes them harder to manage. Cait RottlerEl Reno, Oklahoma This article appeared […]

Thank you for “On the Road to 50: A grand beginning,” (HCN, 5/13/19) and your reporting on the artificially regulated Colorado River and the conundrum surrounding Grand Canyon’s identity. When the Marble Canyon Dam project was canceled, the real trade-off was the Navajo Generating Station and the Black Mesa Mine. These provided the power necessary […]

As a longtime fan of High Country News, I have depended on HCN’s insightful and balanced journalism on Western U.S. issues for many years. So I am surprised by “The Atomic Road Trip” (HCN, 5/13/19), in which everyone and every place is guilty of one awful thing or another. The authors’ judgmental over-simplifications neglect a […]

“Bears Ears’ guerilla visitor center” (HCN, 5/13/19) left me puzzled. Is it meant to be a celebration or a lament?  Monuments and parks attract crowds. Crowds bring problems and damage the very things that are intended to be “preserved.” An official visitors center won’t deter those crowds, nor will it prevent the damage they will cause. Perhaps monument […]

In 1993, eight of us from Colorado first walked in the Chimayó Good Friday Pilgrimage, and we’ve come every year since.  Over the years, we’ve seen the Santuario and the area around it changed by institutional and commercial interests eager to exploit the “Chimayó” brand. Currently, the developers are held in check by the whole […]

I typically have a lot of respect for HCN’s journalism, but I think you missed the mark on the role tourism plays in New Mexico (“The Atomic Road Trip,” 5/13/19). In a state that has traditionally relied on an extraction-based economy (which is, in fact, true destruction), tourism offers rural communities a chance to highlight […]

I want to thank you for publishing Beth Pratt’s piece, “We shouldn’t celebrate the killing of a mountain lion” (HCN, 4/15/19). Mainstream media seems to always sensationalize these sorts of events and never goes back to give readers the rest of the story. Someone in my area picked up on this “danger” and wrote a […]

It broke my heart to read Gladys Connolly’s letter to the editor (HCN, 3/18/19) about Raksha Vasudevan’s essay, “Mountain biking is my act of resistance.” Vasudevan’s essay was so vulnerable and open. I, like Ms. Connolly, was surprised by the intensity of her fear. However, I experienced the essay as a window into a world […]