It seems some people who wrote you letters in the July 19 issue are under the impression that High Country News is supposed to be a "just the facts" newspaper with no slant.

I was never aware that HCN ever claimed to be purely "objective," "balanced" or not "ideological." I’ve been a subscriber off and on for the last couple years, and I’ve always known that HCN has more of an environmental-activist lean. What newspaper out there doesn’t have a slant of some sort? It’s the reader’s responsibility to see the journalist’s perspective and interpret the article from there. Even with a slant, HCN is still about the best newspaper covering Western land and social issues.

But ... I wish you would not print quotes from professional and nonprofessional environmental activists as statements of scientific truth. You guys do that a lot. You can do that with college professors, scientific researchers, etc., but should not with political activists, at least if the quote is presented as positive, objective statement.

Jeremy Boyer
Washougal, Washington