Dear HCN,


The "Hunting: Get Used to it" essay by Jim Fergus (HCN, 1/22/96) was exquisite - but Fergus shouldn't be so hasty to stereotype HCN's readership. Today I am a card-carrying environmentalist, but I am farm/ranch raised and hunting/fishing educated. I cut both my baby teeth and wisdom teeth on Outdoor Life. I believe there is a place for grazing, hunting, fishing, hiking and bird-watching all in the same "wilderness." Like most great conservationists and nature writers, I learned to love the land by living and tramping in it. When I was 12, my family moved from an Iowa farm to the Arizona desert. We sold the home, the land, the furniture and the family crystal - but we packed and moved my dad's lifetime collection of Outdoor Life. I thought this was was a little excessive at the time, but the deeper I get involved in the environmental issues (which are really outdoor life issues), the more I realize my dad (Dwain W. DeGear) knew what he was doing.





Barbara "Barney" Nelson


Reno, Nevada