Letter to the editor

Congratulations on your editorial concerning Western land sales (HCN, 1/23/06: For sale: The West). You succeeded in insulting a sizeable group of hardworking people in your own community. I find it somewhat ironic that right next to an article blasting the announcement of new Realtors who have joined our local Paonia real estate firms is […]

Paul Larmer’s blatant attack on Realtors in the most recent High Country News makes me wonder exactly what he was thinking when this dribble was deemed printworthy in a publication with such high journalistic standards (HCN, 1/23/06: For sale: The West). My “mug” is one of those that he would recognize in area publications “hawking” […]

Recently, Pat Wray claimed that the National Rifle Association does little for hunters (HCN, 1/23/06: What’s the NRA’s beef with roadless areas?). He is wrong. The NRA works with federal, state and local legislatures and regulatory agencies to preserve and improve hunting rights and opportunities throughout the country. Wray acknowledged that the NRA is working […]

The NRA has emptied its big guns on Pat Wray, and I find that hard to understand (HCN, 1/23/06: What’s the NRA’s beef with roadless areas?). Why would a huge, powerful national organization fear a man who thinks they should return to their roots, spending their time fighting on behalf of the Second Amendment? It […]

Regarding the article “Where have all the rangers gone?” (HCN, 12/26/05: Where have all the rangers gone?): During my nearly 30-year career with the U.S. Forest Service, it was very disturbing to observe many dedicated professional wildland managers being forced to change from a situation where nearly all were in the field, managing the forest […]

Michelle Burkhart points out that staff shortages in the national forests mean that citizens often step in to pick up the slack (HCN, 12/26/05: Where have all the rangers gone?). This is certainly true on Colorado’s Roosevelt National Forest (“co-managed” as one unit with the Arapaho National Forest and the Pawnee National Grassland, thus spreading […]

Over the years, HCN has published a number of articles on the issue of illegal immigration. There is a simple fix for this problem that would probably cost much less and be more effective than the current border protection or the proposed Berlin Wall on the Mexico-U.S. border (HCN, 10/31/05: Homeland security gets to bypass […]

The article on organic agriculture clearly lays out the challenges and opportunities in this area (HCN, 12/26/05: A New Green Revolution). Although our universities are lagging behind growers and consumers, as pointed out by a sidebar, Washington State University is poised to offer an undergraduate degree in Organic Agriculture Systems as early as 2006. The […]

Regarding the sidebar article entitled “Universities lag on organics” (HCN, 12/26/05: Universities lag on organics): I am a professor of soil science at Colorado State University, and, of course, it’s true that organic agriculture research is limited at land-grant universities, primarily due to funding limitations. But we are putting together a new interdisciplinary program in […]

I was disturbed by the letter writer who proposed legalizing methamphetamines for oil field workers or anyone else who feels meth “helps” them (HCN, 11/28/05: The bright side of meth). Here in Hawaii, meth is considered the greatest reason for crime (auto theft, house break-ins and robberies), violence and family abuse. Crystal meth, its popular […]

Jim Stiles’ article about the state park ranger who shot a tourist over a camping fee hit a nerve (HCN, 10/17/05: Blood spills over a $14 camping fee). You see, I’ve been reading and re-reading the new National Park Service’s management policies draft. In the past, as Stiles said, rangers used to range. To get […]

Laura Paskus’ article on the Ojito Wilderness mentions the proposal for the Boulder-White Clouds in Idaho, an omnibus lands bill that includes some wilderness designation (HCN, 11/28/05: The little wilderness that could). Paskus states that this legislation has “bipartisan support,” when in fact its only sponsors are Mike Simpson of Idaho and Jim Saxton of […]

I agree with Erik Schultz that life can change dramatically in the blink of an eye (HCN, 12/12/05: Wheelchairs and wilderness can coexist). I am sorry that Erik was injured and is now confined to a wheelchair. But wilderness is, by definition, primitive, not meant to be easily accessed, and is a place where we […]

Regarding Erik Schultz’s column, “Wheelchairs and Wilderness Can Co-exist” (HCN, 12/12/05: Wheelchairs and wilderness can coexist): Erik and Congressman Simpson are to be congratulated for the progress they have made in opening a wilderness area to handicapped persons — be it ever so small. I look from another perspective — that of aging senior citizens. […]

Erik Schultz’s piece about his tragic fall, which left him a paraplegic and unable to savor the wilderness, makes a (HCN, 12/12/05: Wheelchairs and wilderness can coexist). Why? If it’s a choice between personal satisfaction and wilderness protection, we must choose wilderness. Bob Marshall, Ed Abbey, Aldo Leopold — all considered mechanization of wild nature […]

I see there’s another letter condemning HCN’s “drift” into “sociology” eye. One of the biggest mistakes made by conservationists and environmentalists in the past 40 or 50 years was to drift away from sociology. Sociology has to do with the way we humans treat each other and that in turn has enormous implications for how […]

In response to Hal Rothman’s letter: “Solving the West’s Water Problems with Economic Progress” is a beguiling tune, if you’re attracted to that sort of music, but this is the one I hum: Economic growth IS the problem (HCN, 12/26/05: Letters). Consider this: John Muir, the great naturalist and writer, won many noble battles but […]

The article “Forget Idealism” talks of the benefits of transitioning our energy supply from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as wind and solar (HCN, 12/12/05: Forget Idealism). As in many discussions previous to this one, the author fails to address the environmental impacts of wind-power fields. The photo associated with this article says it […]

I propose we designate the “Rich Pombo Memorial Arctic Petting Zoo.” Rep. Pombo should be given a sealskin coat and “invited” to dedicate the facility by hand-feeding the polar bears. Pombo has single-handedly voiced more schemes to eradicate what America truly stands for than any other person ever to sit in Congress (HCN, 10/17/05: Pombo […]

Thank you for the superb article “Back on Track” by Allen Best (HCN, 11/14/05: Back on Track). I reluctantly moved from Denver two and a half years ago, at a time when we could be cautiously optimistic about Denver’s mass transit future. I have since followed developments in Denver, which, as Allen writes, are indeed […]