HCN has once again provided Hal Herring with a forum to promote his personal views on conservation (HCN, 5/30/11). Though little emphasized by Herring, the complete lack of cooperation by Wyoming to support recovery, along with the embryonic wolf populations in Oregon and Washington, has created a difficult situation for legal and balanced application of […]
Letter to the editor
Posted inJune 27, 2011: Hydrofracked?
Not just wolf whiplash
I, a former advocate for wolf re-introduction, am suffering a severe case of wolf whiplash (HCN, 5/30/11). It’s sad, considering how much time, money and effort I have invested in wildlife and habitat conservation. I have lost all trust in those who live by the courts, and have no tolerance for groups who know lawyers […]
Posted inJune 27, 2011: Hydrofracked?
Thank the lawyers, Part I
Hal Herring’s wolf article is most welcome (HCN, 5/30/11). Western land-use reform was only a remote hope before lawsuits leveled the playing field. Those of you thinking nice collaborations are the way to go now have militant lawyers to thank if you succeed. You had better hope they continue, albeit with a bit more prudence. […]
Posted inJune 27, 2011: Hydrofracked?
Thank the lawyers, Part II
In Hal Herring’s reconstruction, the lawsuits environmental groups filed are the prime cause of anti-wolf sentiments (HCN, 5/30/11). I’m skeptical. Herring implies that if the “hard-line” groups had gone along with the Obama administration, Old West folks would have accepted the wolf. I count as friends many Old West farmers, ranchers and loggers. Their visceral […]
Posted inJune 13, 2011: Under the Flight Path
Staying afloat on the flood
Lisa Jones aptly addressed all the causes of the “Flood of Ill Health” that has afflicted us since the water came (HCN, 5/16/11). I say “us,” as I have been around so long that the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold made me an “adopted” member in 1995, the year of my retirement. I still […]
Posted inJune 13, 2011: Under the Flight Path
God bless the “dickybird fellows”
I guess I’m really naive: I thought the only way environmentalists had ever gained any substantial ground in protecting places or species was by starting at the far-left extreme (HCN, 5/30/11). Unfortunately, if it wasn’t for “dickybird fellows” — as Professor Emeritus Valerius Geist from the University of Calgary called environmentalists in Hal Herring’s story […]
Posted inJune 13, 2011: Under the Flight Path
More Wolf side effects
One group that was not discussed in Hal Herring’s recent article on the delisting of wolves in the Northern Rockies were the non-ranching farmers, those who raise alfalfa, corn or other crops (HCN, 5/30/11). Elk damage to crops has been a serious issue in the West since elk numbers began recovering from overharvest years ago. […]
Posted inJune 13, 2011: Under the Flight Path
Whither the ESA?
Thank you to HCN and Hal Herring for the outstanding article on wolves (HCN, 5/30/11)! I saw my first bald eagle in the wild in 1982, my first black-footed ferret in 1983, my first lynx in 1978, and my first wolf in 1980. Due to increased public awareness of the importance of these species and […]
Posted inMay 30, 2011: Wolf Whiplash
Did I mention she can cook?
Debbie Sease was a welcome face on the cover of High Country News (5/2/11). The story didn’t mention two singular aspects of her career. She and the other graying conservationists in the story have all have been extraordinary mentors for many, many others. I got to know Debbie working at the Sierra Club many years […]
Posted inMay 30, 2011: Wolf Whiplash
Idolizing Ed
Call me humorless, but I was disturbed when I read Michael Branch’s essay about the boulder he and his buddies sent smashing downhill (HCN, 5/2/11). His joyous description of the event, in which he channels Ed Abbey’s ribald style perfectly, strikes my sober ear as just another chapter of the bad old story of humans […]
Posted inMay 30, 2011: Wolf Whiplash
Watts of memories
Paul Larmer’s comments about his early years in D.C., and how many lobbyists stayed connected with the West through High Country News, brought to mind my early years with the Bureau of Land Management (HCN, 5/2/11). In the early ’80s, as James Watt ascended to the position of Interior secretary, I got my first taste […]
Posted inMay 30, 2011: Wolf Whiplash
Respect for our (female) elders
Thanks for the article on the inspirational and tenacious Debbie Sease (HCN, 5/2/11). I work for The Wilderness Society and elders like Debbie, Johanna Wald of the Natural Resources Defense Council and volunteer Marge Sill with the Sierra Club in Reno are the inspiration for me and so many other women in the movement. While […]
Posted inMay 30, 2011: Wolf Whiplash
All in not-so-good taste
This is my first time writing in to comment on an HCN story and what finally prompted me was not the contentious, passionate piece that I figured would inspire me to put fingers to keyboard. Instead, it was the slightly naughty, indulgent, but thoroughly invigorating essay about rock rolling (HCN, 5/2/11). I read the story […]
Posted inMay 30, 2011: Wolf Whiplash
Indebted to Debbie
Kudos on your terrific article about Debbie Sease (HCN, 5/2/11). Those who have worked to protect land, water and wildlife with Debbie throughout her career know how talented she is and how much she has accomplished. All who love the West’s wild lands are indebted to Debbie.Johanna WaldSan Francisco, California This article appeared in the […]
Posted inMay 16, 2011: Ripple Effects
Let’s set the record straight
Never have I ever said the river was dead — sleeping, maybe, resting, but never dead. Neither am I, yet — that’s why you’re getting my rebuttal to Craig Childs’ very fine story, “Unstoppable River” (HCN, 4/18/11). I think Childs must have gotten his notes scrambled and turned his pages to Floyd Dominy instead. He […]
Posted inMay 16, 2011: Ripple Effects
Thanks, Michael!
I have had the unique opportunity to work under Dr. Michael Ceballos at the Native American Research lab at the University of Montana for three years (HCN, 5/2/11). I am half Puerto Rican and half Native American (enrolled). I grew up very much immersed in both of my cultural backgrounds. Being Native American is more […]
Posted inMay 16, 2011: Ripple Effects
Get rid of the grass, or else
For years, I owned vacant beachfront property in California. Every February I would receive notice from the local fire department to weed my property and make certain there was no pampas grass (HCN, 4/18/11) on it, else the fire department would do it for me and charge an outrageous fee. I was impressed that the […]
Posted inMay 16, 2011: Ripple Effects
Invasive ignorance
It’s so hard to get the public to take invasive plants seriously and to avoid using and spreading them (HCN, 4/18/11). I’m disappointed with the scarcity of native plants and the availability of invasives at many nurseries. It’s just like grocery stores selling seafood that’s on the Red List of Threatened Species. However, there has […]
Posted inMay 16, 2011: Ripple Effects
Partisan missteps
Sierra Club lobbyist Debbie Sease laments the lack of Theodore Roosevelt-style conservationist Republicans in the current Congress (HCN, 5/2/11). As one cause for that deficiency, she need look no further than her own organization. Protection of the environment is historically a nonpartisan issue. All citizens want to breathe clean air and drink clean water. Unfortunately, […]
Posted inMay 16, 2011: Ripple Effects
In praise of prose
Just wanted to send a note of appreciation for Craig Childs’ article “Unstoppable River” (HCN, 4/18/11). Childs’ writing evokes the same feelings I get when reading Thoreau or Abbey, and he is a master of the “show me, don’t tell me” style. Why have I not heard of Childs until now? Must be this rock […]