Letters to the editor, April 2023
Comments from readers.
GREAT AND INFORMATIONAL
I just finished reading “The Sentinel” (March 2023) by Leah Sottile on Butte. Being a resident of Missoula for 44 years, I’m always interested in stories about Montana. I want to commend her on the article; it was extremely well written, well researched and informational. I hope our state legislators will come to their senses.
Judy Frey
Missoula, Montana
Great cover article on Butte, end to end. No more than I would expect from HCN, of course. Where else can you read this stuff?
Rick Ross
Sweet Home, Oregon
HUMBLED
The appeal of High Country News for me has always been in the news — the contemporary environmental, tribal and
social issues that affect Westerners. I will admit that I’ve almost always skipped through the personal essays and memoirs,
dismissing them as mere filler.
I am humbled that Nina McConigley’s “Say rabbit” (March 2023) proved me wrong. It brought me to tears. Never has a single page of writing stuck with me so clearly and brought me such strong feelings of empathy for a stranger. Many kudos to her, and to the editorial team for publishing it. Proof that everything printed in HCN is worth reading.
Joe Peoria
Colorado Springs, Colorado
REVEALING AND REFRESHING
Thank you for Craig Childs’ beautiful and frank story framing the current status of “Lake” Powell. It is refreshing to see him dig deep into the reservoir in crisis and its possible future.
Shawn Green
La Verkin, Utah
I want to add my voice to what must be a resounding chorus of praise and appreciation for the Glen Canyon story so exquisitely crafted by Craig Childs. The photos are wonderful, as well.
Sally Ashcraft
Montana
I’ve long been a fan of Craig Childs, and so I was eager to get at this piece about the smothered canyon. I must say he did a superb job of documenting the disappearance of the reservoir and the revealing of Glen Canyon.
Chuck Dorsey
Portland, Oregon
SOLAR OPPORTUNITIES
“Save public lands: Put solar on Walmart!” (February 2023) is inspiring. If I were a younger electrician, I’d start a company and begin covering roofs and parking lots.
Kevin Murphy
Faber, Virginia
“Save public lands: Put solar on Walmart” — yes! And on every feasible rooftop, over parking lots, and only as a last resort on public lands or open space. In our rush to build out utility-
scale solar, we are squandering an opportunity to democratize energy. Decentralize energy away from the tired hub-and-spoke model and the miles of transmission lines chopping up the landscape. Solar offers us the chance to generate power locally and minimize our electrical footprint. Take the chance. Act locally.
Erik Moeller
Pueblo, Colorado
Finally, someone picked up on the vast wasteland of big-box rooftops. In addition to the energy output, there is also the reduced HVAC load on the space below.
Another missed opportunity are the many rooftops of all the Amazon warehouses across the world. I can’t believe that Amazon hasn’t monetized this and become a utility.
Mark Ryan
Kingston, Washington
IS FISHING A RELIGION?
I wholeheartedly support eliminating invasive fish species we either directly or indirectly introduced, in order to reintroduce the native fish species that we killed and eliminated in the first place (“Can assisted migration save the Rio Grande’s cutthroat?” January 2023).
However, I believe fish have become an icon of a major religion — fishing. There are more creatures, great and small, that need our help. Frogs, salamanders, endangered insects were mentioned; a lake was described as a place where these species had already been killed off by previous invasive fish stocking. (No sale of fishing licenses possible for frogs, is there?) I wish comments like this would make everybody more conscious that fish are one species of a whole, an incredibly rich and diverse environment.
Steve Reese
Salida, Colorado
IMPRESSED AND TOUCHED
I was impressed with the breadth and depth of the articles in January 2023. Just about every article seamlessly addressed an environmental issue and the human component, with representation across the West. I also really appreciated the articles about/from the LGBTQ community over the last year. “Growing up queer in Colorado Springs” touched my heart, as I grew up there and then experienced the loss of my younger brother to suicide there in 2015, a Marine veteran and queer man.
Thank you for excellent reporting and coverage.
Joanna Harter
Lander, Wyoming
We welcome reader letters. Email High Country News at [email protected] or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.
