So Russell H. Train, head of the Environmental Protection Agency under Republican presidents Nixon and Ford, has said that Bush’s environmental record is so dismal that he would vote for Kerry? ("Polluter protection" is how he characterizes it.) And some readers are howling at HCN for Bush-bashing? Gimme a break!

Frankly, I’m sick of the ubiquitous cry for cooperation and collaboration. (Gasp!) It boils down to compromise, and for environmentalists, that means you shut your pie-hole while we punch roads into your potential wilderness, we outsource your national parks, we poison your air and water.

The Bush administration is hell-bent on doing the most damage it can do to our environment and public lands (and consequently, our democratic process) before getting voted out of office this November (not that it was ever legitimately voted in).

Bush-bashing? Objective reporting? Agenda-driven editorializing? Whatever. I get my news from a variety of sources; HCN’s focus on the West, about which I care passionately, fills a niche for me. Sure, I get angrier every time a new issue arrives, but in this age of "No Wild Left Behind," what does one expect? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I clearly need the tonic of wilderness.

Kathleen Stachowski
Lolo, Montana