WHERE ARE WE?
In “Weakening the rules” (March 2026), the term Golden Triangle is repeated multiple times. I think I know what the author is referring to, but I’m not sure. A map would solve this. A textual definition would be OK, if done carefully.
Jim Rosenau
Berkeley, California
IN PRAISE OF CARE
Thank you so much for the excellent article by Laureli Ivanoff (“Iditarod idol,” March 2026). Every word was rich and meaningful. Care is soft, in tune, perceptive, understanding, responsive. We can spur change through our work, actions, care and feminine instincts. So powerful!
Janis Smith
Via email
BATTLES OVER CATTLE NEVER END
Thank you for the excellent article on the negative impact of cattle grazing throughout the West (“The Bird & the Herd,” February 2026). The fact that the Burns Paiute and Bannock Shoshone tribes are still battling our government and politicians for protection of the sagebrush steppe habitat and our native sage grouse isn’t spiritually uplifting. The tribes are correct to see cattle as an invasive species, as is the annual cheatgrass those cattle bring to the range. It is a continuation of the battles in the late 1800s when our government tried to kill all the bison to force the Native Americans into poverty on reservations.
Chuck Trost
Pocatello, Idaho
The feature on public-land grazing of domestic livestock (“Free Range,” December 2025) was one of the most complete and informative articles on a complex issue I’ve ever seen in a publication. “Overgrazing,” however, is an inappropriate term to use, as it implies that some form or level of herbivory is benign or even beneficial to the natural environment of our public lands. It isn’t. We don’t use “overlogging” or “overmining” or “overdrilling” to describe those forms of environmental degradation. Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt concluded 20 years ago that “grazing, not overgrazing” is the most destructive activity perpetuated on our arid Western landscapes.
Donald Ehrich
Creswell, Oregon
MUSIC MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Thanks to all for another wonderfully diverse issue that illustrates what makes High Country News so valuable, interesting and unique. I especially appreciated the article on Portland’s Black Music Legacy (“The Sound of Black History in Portland,” March 2026) and having a link to an audio playlist to accompany the words and visuals, which creates a wider sensory understanding of people and place.
Alex Clayton
Fort Collins, Colorado
WITNESSES TO HISTORY
I want to expand on Jennifer Sahn’s recent Editor’s Note (“Called to respond,” February 2026) about Ansel Adams’ Manzanar photos and the resulting book, Born Free and Equal.
Adams was so determined to have his photos of the Manzanar incarceration experience preserved for posterity that he donated the photos to the Library of Congress. More telling, he placed no restrictions on the use or duplication of his photos by the public.
While Adams’ uplifting portraits of Manzanar incarcerees border on heroic, another giant of mid-20th century documentary photography, Dorothea Lange, captured the harsh reality, blatant racism and emotional anguish of the internment era. Lange’s photos, which she took as a U.S. government-sponsored photographer, are also available through the Library of Congress.
The official U.S. apology for the unjust imprisonment of about 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII is included in the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which also paid reparations to the remaining camp survivors. The act states unequivocally that the incarceration was the direct result of “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.”
As William Faulkner noted, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
Jon Klusmire
Bishop, California
A DEEP BREAK
I loved your “Deep Time in the West” issue (January 2026). I admired the creative presentation of Wyoming geology by Marcia Bjornerud, enjoyed my friend David Williams’ take on exploring building-stone geology as a means of getting a geology fix in the city, and gained clarification on just what “time immemorial” means to many Indigenous communities in the article by B. “Toastie” Oaster. But it was Melissa Sevigny’s piece on Tanya Atwater that brought me back to my 1977 senior-level undergraduate class in geology. Also, the issue was a nice break from the nation and the world’s horrific news.
Mary Moran
Moab, Utah
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the special January issue, “Deep Time in the West.” Thinking about Earth’s history starting over 4 billion years ago puts today’s issues into a new perspective. I found great comfort in Emilene Ostlind’s article about the pronghorn (“Lessons from an ice age survivor”):“Perhaps the lesson from pronghorn is not to yearn for the past or worry over the unknown future, but to face the day with attention and quiet care.”
Lynda Roberts
Sausalito, California
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