In this issue, we examine the subtleties of Western politics by trying to understand why one Colorado county swung from blue to red in the last election. The county has long been Democratic, with roots in coal production and unions, yet voters in Walsenburg lost faith in professional politicians and voted for now-President Donald Trump. Also, Wyoming considers its wilderness study areas, new studies show the West’s water supplies are dwindling, and urban families fight health-harming heat.

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No land-grabbing here

The erroneous claim that the Antiquities Act is another form of federal land grab is so often repeated but seldom challenged (“Fact-checking Trump’s Antiquities Act order,” HCN, 5/15/17). Switching management from one federal agency to another is not a federal land grab, certainly not in the sense that detractors claim: the federal government taking over…

by David Ek

Subsidized ranchers

The article about the American Prairie Reserve and Phillips County ranchers and farmers ignores the role that federal farm subsidies play in helping to keep the ranchers on the land (“Montana refuge divides tribes and ranchers,” HCN, 5/29/17). According to the Environmental Working Group, from 1995 to 2014 U.S. taxpayers generously paid out $219 million…

by Tom Darnell

Cherry-picking clauses

The conservative fantasy that the federal government can’t own land in the states is based on an ability to ignore relevant parts of the U.S. and state constitutions (“Fact-checking Trump’s Antiquities Act order,” HCN, 5/15/17). For some reason, they think that Article 1 Section 8, which is written specifically about the District of Columbia, is…

by Tim Baker

FLDS awareness

 While I might agree that the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and its treatment of its members, is not the usual subject to be discussed in HCN, I am glad it is (“Change comes to Short Creek,” HCN, 5/1/17). This is part of “our” West, and we should be aware of these…

by Bud Phillips

Voiceless no more

It’s very interesting that now that we have a president who looks at national monuments from the other side of the aisle, some people feel that their voices are not heard (“Zinke listened at Bears Ears, but supporters felt unheard,” HCN, 5/29/17). Consider how those who voted for this president have felt for the past…

by Joe Cosentino

Locked out of lands

I guess as I slip into advanced stages of crusty ol’ farthood and fall from my state of grace formerly attained as a member of various enviro-spiritual organizations, e.g., Sierra Club and Greenpeace, I am developing a certain appreciation for those who oppose the relentless march of special designation of vast tracts of land, such…

by Tom Schweich