Instead of giving us a hypothetical letter, why not call the presidential candidates and ask them where they stand on Western issues, and then tell us (HCN, 1/21/08)? You could have played an important role in informing us about where the candidates stand on the issues.

I believe the most important challenge in the West is water management, not energy development. Another important issue is the heavy hand of Congress and government on the West, and how we remove it. Other issues at least as important as energy are roadless areas; wilderness; Endangered Species Act revision; public-land access and management philosophy (stand-and-stare vs. active management); private property rights vs. preservation of open space; wolf and grizzly bear delisting; and what should be done to protect the integrity of Western values.

Unfortunately, Super Tuesday will come and go before another issue of HCN, and we will have to vote based on our own limited knowledge of where the candidates stand on the issues.

Jim Gerber
St. Anthony, Idaho