I respect the sum total of Stewart Udall’s accomplishments and would certainly prefer him to the current administration’s secretary of Interior. But it is not accurate to portray his record as a string of "unambiguous environmental victories" as does Ray Ring (HCN, 10/11/04:Udall patriarch laments startling changes). In 1963, Secretary Udall supported damming the Grand Canyon. Opposed by David Brower and the Sierra Club, Udall lost this battle, even as the club lost its tax-exempt status as a result of the tactics that were used to defeat the project. Udall also led the charge to build the Central Arizona Project, which is, by any measure, a project that continues to have ambiguity written all over it.

Ed Grumbine
Prescott, Arizona