My husband and I count ourselves among those "who care about the West," and we are activists on behalf of the natural environment. This does not mean, however, that we stand at the political left; nor do we want to be bombarded with liberal bromides.

Case in point: "Putting our house back in order" by Jaime O'Neill: a Bush-execrating, starry-eyed lovenote to Obama (HCN, 2/02/09). Short on substance, it had not even a tangential connection to the West or the environment.

If HCN is to be a forum for partisan politics, then it should provide a platform for conservationists across the political spectrum, not just the liberal end of it. Better yet, stick to what we hold in common: our stewardship of the natural world in the West.

Alexis Worlock
Salt Lake City, Utah