Letter to the editor

I enjoyed learning about HCN’s history in the 50th anniversary issue (September 2020) and, in particular, Carl Segerstrom’s interview with Betsy Marston and Paul Larmer. I agree with Marston that regularly including Native journalists and issues is a welcome improvement and also that HCN should “start with the public lands, because everything flows from that.” […]

Congratulations on an incredible piece of journalism, “Extreme Heat” (September 2020). The content, obviously, is compelling, but writer Jessica Kutz’s language, style and structure made it read as a wonderful piece of literature. Clearly, you put a lot of work into the article, and it shows. Thank you for the work you do. Trey Duffy […]

After reading Alex Carr Johnson’s piece (“Now that you’ve gone West, young man,” September 2020), I wonder, “What now?” What does it mean — to Johnson and similarly enlightened people — to understand that you live on land unfairly taken and that you are not entitled to? To me, a Native person, I worry that […]

This is true for every mountain town that has become a playground to East Coasters and urbanites: The workers serving the upper class cannot afford to live in the towns they work in (“A West in flux,” September 2020). Meanwhile, the second- and third-homeowners seem oblivious to how their choices fuel climate change, housing shortages, […]

I’m basically a climate refugee from Texas looking to settle somewhere in rural Washington or Oregon (“A West in flux,” September 2020). I recognize that Texas will likely be too hot to inhabit within my lifetime. So these trends are concerning to me because I already cannot afford any kind of reasonable acreage or homesite […]

One result of the Trump administration’s insidious policy changes to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is the Bureau of Land Management’s use of so-called “vegetation treatment” programs (“Narrow NEPA,” September 2020). These environmentally destructive efforts involve stripping natural lowland forests, shrublands and grasslands using chaining, mowing, masticating, herbiciding and burning. The areas […]

Thank you for your excellent article, “Experts in de-escalation,” July 2020, explaining how Eugene, Oregon, has been able to avoid unnecessary policing.  This story needs to be sent to every mayor in every city in the country. The program you wrote about, CAHOOTS — Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets — should be a blueprint for […]

I appreciate Betsy Marston echoing my concerns (“A little paper with clout,” September 2020) about HCN as stated in my letter to the editor last month. She encapsulates my feelings by saying: “Sometimes I don’t get why we do a story, because I want it to connect to the land and everything that goes on. […]

Regarding “A wildlife refuge under siege” (September 2020): Anyone who has read Marc Reisner’s book Cadillac Desert (1986) knows that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation don’t give a damn about environmental impacts or accurate numbers. Caleb Efta, via social media This article appeared in the print edition of the […]

“The Return” was so well researched and written; it examined the issue from every angle. This may be the best story I’ve read in my years with High Country News. It is also an issue near and dear to my heart and soul. Wonderful! And a happy ending! Bill LundeenLee Vining, California This article appeared in the […]

“Am I an invasive species?” went beyond a discussion of the social power of words and language and implied that organisms which arrive by some means from one ecosystem to occupy another might be better thought of as “immigrants,” “refugees” or part of a “diaspora.” Opinions have been floating around for a while about whether […]

I want to commend High Country News — and author Maya Kapoor specifically — for the feature “Fish Out of Water” (July 2020). The story is a masterful look into so many of the touchstones that define life in the Southwest — the border, Indigenous rights, water scarcity — all connected by an unlikely and […]

Concerning “The thin blurred line” (August 2020), I’d like to suggest an alternate response to violence on any side. Keep the damn statue! But make it tell both sides of the story. Add a plaque that describes the genocide of Indigenous peoples. Bring school groups and others to teach people of the racist history. Meanwhile, […]

There are conservative, religious, gun-toting, Trump-backing people throughout the American West who are generous, hardworking and kind, and in no way affiliated with violent militias or racism (“Extremists as opportunists,” August 2020). While I do not share their worldview, I count on these people every day. Their absence from the pages of HCN is conspicuous. […]

Loved “Am I an invasive species” by Jenny Liou (August 2020). My partner and I often refer to the homogenization of skin tones in our discussions of world events. At the same time, I love to learn about other cultures. The stories and experiences of my Northern European ancestry along with my remarkably white suburban […]

The saga of the disappearance and return of one of the Pueblo of Acoma’s six stolen shields was as intriguing as it was inspirational, but it also leaves troubling questions (“The Return,” August 2020). The article’s lack of any picture of this recovered shield struck me as particularly odd. The article also revealed that the […]

“Armed and contagious” is an interesting article. The culling of human beings is what I am heartbroken about – our old, our houseless, our vulnerable. Natalie Hirtvia Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Heartbroken.

“Fish Out of Water” by Maya Kapoor, is a great (sad, beautiful, thoughtful) story. Vicky Stein, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline A great story.

To provide some historical framing for current socio-political happenings, look to Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s “Armed and contagious” in the June issue. When things don’t make sense, dig into history to find out why. Alan-Michael Weatherford, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline American violence.

For anyone in Seattle who is interested in City Councilmember Andrew Lewis’s proposal to create a mental health response unit similar to Eugene’s CAHOOTS program, Anna V. Smith did a very good, detailed report on this in the June issue of High Country News (“Experts in de-escalation”). Andrew Engelson, via Twitter This article appeared in […]