Jonathan Thompson talks methane leaks with KDNK Radio

Reading the special recreation edition, a theme came through to me: It is understandable and even honorable to push the envelope, stretch the rules, and even break them now and then in the interests of pursuing the right to recreation. Whether biking, BASE jumping, skiing, etc., rules and restrictions are un-American, even when they exist […]

After I read the news in your July 20 special recreation issue, I read all the ads. They were about one-third of the print content. What’s in the ads for me? I’m 20 years over the 55.6 median age of readers, make a little less than the median household income ($63,750), and my M.A. makes me […]

Sarah Tory’s July 2 article, “End of the Trail Wars,” ends with, “We reach an intersection where a big Forest Service alert sign warns us that the trail is closed except to pedestrian traffic. ‘Rama’ stops and looks around briefly, ‘Well,’ he says, a mischievous glint in his eyes, ‘I can’t resist.’ ” Why you […]

I wanted to give you feedback on the “Living the Dream” article (HCN, 7/20/15). When someone is profiled who only earns $1,800 a summer, it tells me: “This is someone who has a support structure in place to be able to live on that little money.” It’s someone who does not need to support other […]

Your latest cover about the West being SHREDDED made me nauseous — not because of the vertigo-inducing image of bikers perched at cliff edge, but because it reminds me that enjoyment of Western public lands is becoming impossible (HCN, 7/20/15). Since my backpacking days are over, my solitude-seeking trips now tend to yield annoyance and […]

Your Aug. 3 article treated only one aspect of aerial firefighting — daytime activities, when fires are most active. Firefighting officials seem to have ruled out aerial operations at night when the fire has “laid down” and most often is not active. We see instead the photo ops of planes attacking fully active fires in […]

“Aerial firefighting: Is it worth it?” (HCN, 8/3/15) claims that wildland firefighting from the air has yet to be proven to work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone knowledgeable about wildland firefighting understands that fixed-wing tankers and helicopters have always been used in an initial attack mode. Their mission was never meant to extinguish fires, […]

Have we learned anything about wildfires and people living in high fire-hazard areas? (“The Bigger Burn,” HCN, 8/3/15.) The late columnist Ed Quillen got it right when he challenged the “closer to nature” lifestyle of people unconcerned about wildfires until one was knocking on their front door. He called this living in “the stupid zone.” […]