Letter to the editor

Thanks to Laura Pritchett (“Laughter, America, Death Valley,” HCN, 2/5/18) and her sweetheart, Kevin, for paying homage to laughter, sorrow and native desert fishes. Death Valley’s pupfish species set an especially good example for us in these dark and heated times: They keep swimming even when the water in the tub is trickling down the drain and […]

The Mark Baird-led push for state of Jefferson endorsement in Plumas County, California, consisted of relentlessly pressuring the county board of supervisors (who are sworn to uphold the California State Constitution) for a vote of support to leave California, and then walking away from any relationship with that body when that support was not forthcoming […]

Thank you for investigating threats to the San Pedro River east of Tucson, Arizona (“Federal agency retracts opposition to Arizona project,” HCN, 1/22/18). The river is unique in that it is one of the last free-flowing desert streams in the United States, supporting riparian habitats for aquatic and terrestrial species of conservation interest. In the San […]

In his editor’s note, Brian Calvert discusses the much-celebrated Cliven Bundy legal case, which was recently summarily dismissed by a Las Vegas judge (“Rural white scorn,” HCN, 1/22/18).  He reminds us of the issues that resulted in federal charges brought against Mr. Bundy — that Mr. Bundy was using federal (public) lands as grazing pastures […]

I read Christopher Solomon’s essay on his visit to the McNeil River Sanctuary with great interest (“Bear Essentials,” HCN, 12/25/17). I was especially struck by the idea of humans learning how to interact with bears by figuring out what works for the bears, what their language is, rather than trying to force the bears to […]

With respect to the movement to create a state of Jefferson in far Northern California, the photo on the bottom of page 17 says all that needs to be said: Those promoting separation from California are overwhelmingly old folks. One was nodding out in the photo (“A Separatist State of Mind,” HCN, 1/22/18)! I’ve lived […]

Perhaps if Kayla Brown (“A Separatist State of Mind,” HCN, 1/22/18) had spent the last five years working to reinvigorate “the Northstate” instead of trying to divide the state, her husband might have a job in the area she loves. She could have been working with Extension Services and community colleges to bring in educational […]

Ryan Bundy thinks that he still lives in the Old West of “make your own laws and bring a gun to enforce them” (“Ryan Bundy’s West,” HCN, 12/25/17). Thank goodness we had level-headed people years ago who decided that in order to have a civil society, we needed some boundaries and guidelines. Bundy said the […]

In addition to the case at point in Gloria Dickie’s article, (“A precedent for species recovery?” HCN, 1/22/18), the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has made two other rulings in the Great Lakes wolf case that deserve mention. First, it ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service has the authority to delist a distinct population […]

While the prospect of higher access fees to public lands — particularly national parks — is a valid concern, as a frequent park visitor, I see the two most pressing concerns as being: (1) The cost of the immense backlog of maintenance to the infrastructure of the parks, and (2) the daily damage being done […]

I understand that the case against the Bundys — or any other defendant, for that matter — can be dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct if the judge determines that prosecutors egregiously violated the rights of the defendants, preventing them from being able to conduct his or her defense, (“Cliven Bundy walks,” HCN, 1/22/18). That is a […]

In his Editor’s Note for the Dec. 11 issue, Paul Larmer repeats a widely held belief, writing that “neither side (“Republican lawmakers” nor “environmentalists”) is doing much to create lasting solutions on the ground that could help overcome a century of fear-based (fire) management in the West.” That is false. All over the West, grassroots […]

Too often the media sensationalizes wildfire. I think HCN should ensure its language does not add to sensationalism (“Scorched Earth,” HCN, 11/11/2017). For instance, HCN refers to the Eagle Creek Fire as “consuming close to 50,000 acres.” Those acres still exist, so what was consumed? Some of the vegetation is still there, since wildfires rarely burn 100 percent […]

Krista Langlois’ piece on public lands looked all around the mulberry bush about raising entrance fees to national parks and other public lands, but never reached the obvious conclusion (“Who should pay for public lands?” HCN, 12/25/17). That is stated clearly in the second paragraph of Jonathan Thompson’s Perspective on page 25 (“Interior’s return to […]

The situation with wildfire is more complex than captured in this short story (“Proper fire funding continues to elude Congress,” HCN, 12/6/17). This issue warrants much fuller treatment. Housing and infrastructure are expanding into untenable fire-prone settings in part because more people need housing and too many of them are attracted to or allowed to […]

 Reader responses to Linda Hasselstrom’s awfully honest poem about her father’s command to take care of the kittens reveal how little some of those readers understood her words, and how little they know about ranch life (“Heard Around the West,” HCN, 10/30/17). All too often it is urbanites, beleaguered by kittens they are too lazy […]

Cally Carswell has given a voice to rare plants. I thoroughly enjoyed her article “Threatened plants on state lands have few protections” (HCN, 11/27/17). Thank you for dedicating a feature article to the plight of rare plants. “Plant blindness” is a widespread malady that can only be cured by repeated exposure to the sublime world […]

Blaming wild horses alone for overgrazing of public lands fails to comprehend they are victims of “management” as are taxpayers (“The Navajo Nation has a wild horse problem,” HCN, 10/6/17). It is also clear that in the remaining areas on public lands where wild horses and burros are allowed to exist at all, they share […]

Weaponized landscape or great place to drink Tecate? The tone of this piece is way out of whack with the story it purports to tell: how author Francisco Cantú transformed himself from a (brutal? we never find out) Border Patrol cop to a teacher, writer and (we are led to believe) sympathizer with those he […]