Dear HCN,


Although I long ago gave up hunting, it was refreshing to read such a sensitive, respectful view of nature, wilderness and wildlife as was depicted in Tom Reed's essay, "In the house of the grizzly" (HCN, 9/24/01: In the house of the grizzly). I wish many more hunters and people out for recreation in this country were half as sensitive to the need for human beings to share Earth with other species and be respectful of nature rather than to be an adversary of nature.


Reed's essay stood in sharp contrast to the behavior of hunters I've seen this season hunting from their trucks along Utah Route 12 on Boulder Mountain. The spectacle of three hunters in full camouflage gear, including hoods and smudged faces and hands, hunting deer at dusk from the windows and back of a shiny red 4x4 pickup while driving on Route 12, was so ludicrous it was funny in a very sad sort of way. I wish I could say this was an isolated incident, but during our few drives between Torrey and Boulder this hunting season, my wife and I have seen dozens of trucks bristling with hunters cruising the road. We hear from people who have lived here longer than we, that this practice is standard procedure each hunting season. I suspect these guys imagine themselves to be the "mighty hunters," but I ask myself, have they no self-respect or pride?


Robert Garrigues
Boulder, Utah