The West’s best buy-one-get-one free, leopard on the loose and a fatal moment of thoughtlessness

Jonathan Thompson’s otherwise excellent article about Silverton, Colorado’s environmental and economic woes missed a key point about the town’s economic problems (“The Gold King Reckoning,” HCN, 5/02/16). All tourist economies are not created equal, and Silverton, for whatever reason, has failed to develop tourism that can sustain the town as an alternative to past mining. […]

The question I have yet to hear an answer to from anyone advocating for the removal of the O’Shaughnessy Dam is this: What is the plan for the Hetch Hetchy Valley after dam removal (“Under water,” HCN, 5/30/16)? My gut tells me that the Park Service and whatever corporation is running the park’s concessions would […]

Thanks to Nathan Martin for his May 30 essay, “It’s still dangerous to be gay in Wyoming,” and the related cover story, “Trial by Fire,” by Krista Langlois. Truth be told, it’s dangerous to be gay or female most anywhere on the planet. If racism doesn’t bring us down, then homophobia and sexism might well […]

God bless High Country News for its fearless and productive investigative reporting, as in “Justice denied” (HCN, 5/16/16). Responsible investigative journalism, perhaps above all other genres, must be precise in distinguishing between claims and evidence.  But: “ ‘They just want your money.’ What a public defender told Sue M., when asked if he could do […]