I am excited about the Río Grande del Norte National Monument. However, I work for one of the tribes in New Mexico, and given my familiarity with Native issues, I always find the position of the Hispanic community in New Mexico to be rather hypocritical. When they state that they have a claim to the […]
Letter to the editor
Posted inMay 13, 2013: Right-wing Migration
Token protection?
It’s wonderful that people from many cultures in northern New Mexico recognized the economic benefits from heightened federal recognition of the Río Grande Gorge near Taos. National monuments are powerful economic drivers, and we welcome President Obama’s action. Yet the language of the Río Grande del Norte proclamation offers little additional environmental protection beyond status […]
Posted inApril 29, 2013: A New Forest Paradigm
Contemplating the future
In the last few months, I think that you have increased the quality and timeliness of your articles. This latest cover story is proof in the pudding (“Sacrificial Land,” HCN, 4/15/13). Not only did Judith Lewis Mernit cover what is going on in the Mojave Desert — a complicated subject — but she also included […]
Posted inApril 29, 2013: A New Forest Paradigm
Just the facts, ma’am
I was very disappointed with your travel issue (HCN, 3/18/13). The trees of Bernal Heights, a kayaking adventure to Alaska, gambling on the rez, volunteer tourism, secret getaways of the BLM groupie — it read more like a tourist tabloid for the West rather than the newspaper that I expect to inform me of the big […]
Posted inApril 29, 2013: A New Forest Paradigm
You, too, can be a BLM groupie
Craig Childs’ March 18 article about the Bureau of Land Management’s “shadow national park system” highlighted the remarkable discoveries — personal and scientific — available on the millions of acres within the National Landscape Conservation System (“Secret Getaways of a BLM Groupie,” HCN). On the hundreds of unique and irreplaceable conservation sites managed by the […]
Posted inApril 15, 2013: Sacrificial Land
Bikers aren’t the only bandits
I just returned home from a long vacation to southern Arizona to find High Country News’ travel issue in my mailbox. “Volunteer tourism” by Henry Ring and Craig Childs’ “Secret Getaways of a BLM Groupie” were particularly well done (HCN, 3/18/13). Thousands of volunteers give tens of thousands of hours to protect and maintain our […]
Posted inApril 15, 2013: Sacrificial Land
Downstream depletions
The practices of San Luis Valley farmers also have dramatic consequences for communities downstream (“Farming on the Fringe,” HCN, 2/18/13). The Rio Grande Compact allows the dewatering of the main stem of the Rio Grande through Taos County, N.M. Frequently, because of the heavy irrigation demands of the San Luis Valley farmers, the river is […]
Posted inApril 15, 2013: Sacrificial Land
Ruins ruined in New Mexico, too
Tsankawi, a satellite ancestral Pueblo site of Bandelier National Monument, like the archaeological sites of Cedar Mesa, has been minimally supervised, and because it is right off the highway to the park it is often visited by people who want a less-groomed experience (“Ruining the ruins?” HCN, 3/4/13). Unfortunately, that hands-off approach has taken its […]
Posted inApril 15, 2013: Sacrificial Land
Where’s the skepticism?
From reading “Gambling on rez tourism,” it seems HCN has become a voice for the gambling industry (3/18/13). After touting the wonderful financial benefits to be gained by building increasingly outlandish theme park-style casinos, this article spent scarcely a word on the negative impacts suffered by locals. There was one dismissive paragraph that began: “Putting aside some […]
Posted inMarch 18, 2013: Second annual travel issue
Trouble for more than one Arizona river
Thanks for spreading the news of growing threats to the San Pedro (“Standoff on the San Pedro,” HCN, 2/18/13). However, the San Pedro is not “the Southwest’s last free-flowing major desert river.” In fact, the Verde River is the longest surviving living river in Arizona. A much larger river, it supports a healthy riparian habitat […]
Posted inMarch 18, 2013: Second annual travel issue
A (futile) line in the oil sands
As a lifelong conservationist and the former head of the Izaak Walton League of America, I think environmental opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline is wrong (“Taking it to the streets,” HCN, 2/18/13). Climate change is a vital issue that must be addressed, but drawing a line in the oil sands will not help. Canada’s […]
Posted inMarch 18, 2013: Second annual travel issue
Beijing’s toxic brew, explained
The really big difference between air quality in Salt Lake City and Beijing — indeed, any city of size that lies north of the Yangtze River — stems from particulates and other emissions in the exhaust from many widely dispersed furnaces whose associated boilers feed into district heating systems, which are the primary means for […]
Posted inMarch 18, 2013: Second annual travel issue
It’s time to get real
The San Luis Valley is a wonderful place that needs to be preserved (“Farming on the Fringe,” HCN, 2/18/13). The water issues will only get worse as the climate goes into this hotter drier spell — one that could last thousands of years. I’m glad the local people are working on a solution to their […]
Posted inMarch 4, 2013: Uncertain Landing
A new direction for Big Green
Judith Lewis Mernit hints at a recent past that needs resurrection and a hidden present that needs exposure if we are to have a sustainable future for our planet (HCN, 2/18/13, “Taking it to the streets“). In his book Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run, David Brower asks what has happened to boldness […]
Posted inMarch 4, 2013: Uncertain Landing
Good wishes for the Badlands
I read with interest the feature article by Brendan Borrell concerning Badlands National Park (HCN, 2/4/13, “Making Good on the Badlands“). I served as the superintendent there in the mid-1980s and was responsible for the preparation of a revision to the park’s 1982 master plan. This revision was approved by the director of the Park […]
Posted inMarch 4, 2013: Uncertain Landing
Lessons from Washington State
Your recent placement of Washington’s Chelan County in Oregon could be construed as a benefit in disguise (HCN, 2/4/2013, “Love Wins“). How so? Judging from the polls, Oregon has a very good chance of passing a same-sex marriage ballot measure in 2014 or 2016. We of the critical mass of supporters who desire an equivalent […]
Posted inMarch 4, 2013: Uncertain Landing
Letterpress memories
Thank you very much for your “Postcard” about the Saguache Crescent (HCN, 2/4/2013, “There ain’t no app for that”). As a 1977 graduate of Colorado College, I had the pleasure of visiting Saguache on a number of occasions. On one such visit, we were the front-page headline, as in Colorado College Students Visit Saguache. I […]
Posted inMarch 4, 2013: Uncertain Landing
Making connections to the land
My husband, Delaney, and I wholeheartedly thank you for your incredible Jan. 21 issue on natural resource education. Both of us visited your office in winter of 2010 and talked to your staff about including more articles about education. We are educators ourselves and we love teaching outside in the rural West. We have dedicated […]
Posted inFebruary 18, 2013: Farming on the Fringe
Education in the great outdoors
The following comments were posted at hcn.org in response to the Jan. 21 “Learning by Living” special issue. What will sustain the Outward Bound school is real adventure that the students spearhead (HCN, 1/21/13, “Outward (re)Bound“). Not peaks or rivers the instructors want to climb or paddle, but objectives that the students embark upon, fueled […]
Posted inFebruary 18, 2013: Farming on the Fringe
No more ‘social studies’
I am a Colorado rancher. I subscribe to HCN for the responsible research and reporting its contributors provide on environmental issues affecting the West. (The Dec. 24 feature on energy development in British Columbia is a perfect recent example.) While there is a decidedly liberal view evident in much of what HCN produces, I support […]