Letter to the editor

I was particularly touched by the article in the September issue regarding the California Maidu Indians’ recovery of their land, though as I continued through the various articles I was surprised that I didn’t find any reference to Heyday Press of Berkeley, California, and Malcolm Margolin, the publisher (“The Exact Same Place,” HCN, 9/14/15).  Malcolm […]

Aug. 6, 2015, was the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and also the day the Gold King Mine above Silverton, Colorado, spewed a buildup of toxic mining waters into the Animas River flowing through bucolic Durango (“Animas spill,” HCN, 8/31/15). I am a gold-miner’s daughter. I moved to Durango in 1985 and […]

Although I now live in Portland, Oregon, I have followed the Animas River mine drainage spill issue with extreme interest, because I spent several years studying water quality issues related to mine drainage in Colorado in the 1970s. Jonathan Thompson’s article provides the most complete description of the incident that I’ve read or heard (including […]

I found your story “Sea lions feast on Columbia salmon” (HCN, 8/17/15) both interesting and disturbing. That some are ready to kill these animals due to their apparent localized “over-population” is the very definition of hypocrisy. Humans have over-populated the planet since the 1960s, and our over-consumption and careless actions have put the entire planet […]

The article “On life support,” (HCN, 8/3/15), on the efforts to “save” the silvery minnow, is so depressing. Yes, I realize this is a desert river, not like the rivers of British Columbia. I’ve travelled often in the Southwest and subscribed to HCN for well over a decade, so there were no surprises here. Yet this […]

In “It’s time to end Custer worship,” (HCN, 8/3/15), writer Todd Wilkinson asks whether George Custer should “be celebrated as a hero of conquest or recast as the bigoted, egotistical, narcissistic villain he apparently was? Does he deserve to have his name attached to towns, counties, a state park and a national forest, or should […]

My thanks to Emma Marris for saving me precious time and money with her reviews of the wilderness-themed books by Jason Mark and Fred Pearce (“Wilderness redefined and defended,” HCN, 9/14/15). As she suggests, the authors’ purist non-interventionist OK with extinction philosophy will alienate many readers, but I think “revolt” might be a more accurate […]

After I read the news in your July 20 special recreation issue, I read all the ads. They were about one-third of the print content. What’s in the ads for me? I’m 20 years over the 55.6 median age of readers, make a little less than the median household income ($63,750), and my M.A. makes me […]

Reading the special recreation edition, a theme came through to me: It is understandable and even honorable to push the envelope, stretch the rules, and even break them now and then in the interests of pursuing the right to recreation. Whether biking, BASE jumping, skiing, etc., rules and restrictions are un-American, even when they exist […]

I wanted to give you feedback on the “Living the Dream” article (HCN, 7/20/15). When someone is profiled who only earns $1,800 a summer, it tells me: “This is someone who has a support structure in place to be able to live on that little money.” It’s someone who does not need to support other […]

Sarah Tory’s July 2 article, “End of the Trail Wars,” ends with, “We reach an intersection where a big Forest Service alert sign warns us that the trail is closed except to pedestrian traffic. ‘Rama’ stops and looks around briefly, ‘Well,’ he says, a mischievous glint in his eyes, ‘I can’t resist.’ ” Why you […]

Your latest cover about the West being SHREDDED made me nauseous — not because of the vertigo-inducing image of bikers perched at cliff edge, but because it reminds me that enjoyment of Western public lands is becoming impossible (HCN, 7/20/15). Since my backpacking days are over, my solitude-seeking trips now tend to yield annoyance and […]

Your Aug. 3 article treated only one aspect of aerial firefighting — daytime activities, when fires are most active. Firefighting officials seem to have ruled out aerial operations at night when the fire has “laid down” and most often is not active. We see instead the photo ops of planes attacking fully active fires in […]

“Aerial firefighting: Is it worth it?” (HCN, 8/3/15) claims that wildland firefighting from the air has yet to be proven to work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone knowledgeable about wildland firefighting understands that fixed-wing tankers and helicopters have always been used in an initial attack mode. Their mission was never meant to extinguish fires, […]

Have we learned anything about wildfires and people living in high fire-hazard areas? (“The Bigger Burn,” HCN, 8/3/15.) The late columnist Ed Quillen got it right when he challenged the “closer to nature” lifestyle of people unconcerned about wildfires until one was knocking on their front door. He called this living in “the stupid zone.” […]

As discussed by Frank Carroll (“We’re letting another predator go down,” HCN, 6/22/15), many Western states appear to have a war on mountain lions. In Arizona, the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, a trophy ram hunting group, and the state Department of Game and Fish have cooperated on multiple bag limits, which allow a hunter […]

As a longtime subscriber to your magazine and someone who values your focus on issues across the West, I do take exception to your “Latest” item about Sen. John McCain’s bill to increase the Border Patrol’s access to the borderlands, (HCN, 5/25/15). I can assure you that, as a retired Border Patrol agent, any environmental damage done while agents […]

Start them young. My 19-month-old grandson, River, is in love with the “Tree of Life” illustration on the June 8, 2015, cover. My thanks to Bryce Gladfelter for an image that can entertain a small child, over and over: birds, bugs, lizards, spiders and so much more to point at. But I must say he […]

John Hart’s essay, “Making a national monument from scratch,” (HCN, 5/25/15) beautifully illustrated the unique history and landscape of the Berryessa Snow Mountain region and the tremendous work it takes to ensure permanent protection for our public lands. It is important to underscore that the effort to designate these lands as a national monument is supported […]