John Fayhee quotes Heidi McIntosh, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance’s conservation director: "At one time The Zephyr was important" (HCN, 5/29/06: Clinging Hopelessly to the Past). That really got my attention, my outrage. Seven words of dismissal, the meaning crystal clear: Public disagreement with SUWA automatically puts The Zephyr in gulag territory, no longer relevant, because SUWA (and, I have to add) many another environmental organization is (are) king of the mountain: won’t endure criticism, can’t answer criticism.

Diversity of opinion is what makes The Canyon Country Zephyr fascinating. One, you never know what the next issue will hold. Two, you know there will be argument. Three, it will be a free-speech zone.

Some people are always searching and sometimes that means taking risks. Jim Stiles is one of those. That’s why The Zephyr is so important in these crisis times. Those cartoon ads alone ... sometimes I clip them ... my recent favorite features three dogs, each one so different, each one such a personality! We humans are like that, too, different, with personalities. Let’s face it.

Martin Murie
North Bangor, New York