Letter to the editor

Jason Fisher’s essay on his experiences with mules brings optimism. Seems like the younger generations have strayed far away from such non-motorized pursuits. It is great to know there are still young individuals such as Fisher who like to see the landscape from atop an equine’s back. I challenge anyone to see how different the […]

I have enjoyed reading your newspaper for over 10 years. However, when I read the new editor’s call for amnesty for all undocumented aliens in the U.S., I realized that HCN is no longer a paper for people that “care about the West.” Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, anyone who takes […]

Regarding the Feb. 19 Editor’s Note, it is refreshing to read something that actually makes sense regarding the subject of illegal immigration. The solution is to find a way to accommodate the people who want to come to this country and work, and at the same time to find a way for illegal immigrants who […]

I object to author John Dougherty’s assessment that “Marijuana isn’t the only drug being smuggled” across the Tohono O’odham Nation’s border with Mexico. Marijuana is not a drug. It is a plant that is smoked without any processing necessary, unlike the commercial tobacco that kills millions every year. There has never been any legitimate proof […]

“Whack-a-Mole” is Editor John Mecklin’s free expression about opposition to immigration, but if one opposes illegal aliens one is branded “xenophobic” by Mr. Mecklin. I ask Mr. Mecklin, how many times has he visited Mexico, or been billeted with blacks, Hispanics or Asians? Ever had Hispanic roommates? People that oppose illegal immigration (70 percent of […]

I really enjoyed the article “One Nation Under Fire.” I am a contract archaeologist working at the San Miguel Gate, monitoring the archaeological sites during the construction of vehicle barriers. I thought that your article was very true to the situation. So many people seem to underestimate the issues along the border and on the […]

Laura Paskus’ article on the traveling butchering unit in Taos seemed very insensitive. “Beginning this spring, cattle, pigs, lamb, goats, even bison, will trot up the ramp leading into the back of the Mobile Matanza, where they’ll be met by …” This line is complemented by a picture of a man sharpening a large knife. […]

Please do not take the editorial advice from Mark Salvo concerning the use of the word “overgrazing.” It is ironic that Salvo portrays himself as being on the side of “rational discourse” when he appears in fact to be one of those zealots who believes that any grazing in that nonexistent monolith he calls “the […]

The “Condemned” article stated that “private parties” like corporations can condemn private property, bypassing government, for “public use” in five Western states. If that is the case, then why can’t “private parties” like incorporated environmental groups condemn the private property of corporations for “public use”? Rather than fight to change the state constitutions, use existing […]

Looking at the 2008 election in “Two Weeks in the West,” Jonathan Thompson appropriately pointed out the condescending nature of the New York Post’s headline about a New Mexican politician tossing his “sombrero” into the presidential ring. He then went on in the same paragraph to use the same inappropriate style by including the religious […]

Too bad Matt Jenkins ruined an otherwise well-researched, well-written article, “The Efficiency Paradox,” with his out-of-line comments in the sixth paragraph from the end. “Doddering snowbirds”… come on. Do doddering snowbirds walk three miles a day or hike to the bottom and back of Bryce Canyon in 90 degree heat at over 9,000 foot altitude? […]

Your amusement in “Heard Around the West” concerning the Idaho Statesman headline about a missing councilman is not at all amusing. This is a local gentleman that stopped to assist a driver at the side of the highway, and as a result it is assumed that he was hit by a passing vehicle or jumped […]

As a longtime HCN subscriber, I want to congratulate Ray Ring on winning the (George) Polk Award (I just got your e-mail notice of the award at The Chadron Record, where I am editor and publisher). “Taking Liberties,” his article on the Libertarian election initiatives, was a great example of how even a small paper […]

Ed Marston’s review of Alvin Josephy’s new book Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes refers to Bernard DeVoto’s Course of Empire as a “traditional” perspective characterizing the expedition as “one long and heroic act, one close call, one brilliant decision after another.” Having just re-read all three of DeVoto’s Western histories, I must take exception […]

I congratulate you and author Emma Brown on the recent article “Under the Radar.” Many, perhaps most, of your articles relate controversies that involve high-stakes battles between corporations, government entities, environmental organizations, or landowners. This story is a human one that transcends our differences. This is not a news report that you have published, but […]

“Two Weeks in the West” noted problems with Colorado’s conservation easement tax credit program. This was just enough information to frighten people, but not enough to help them understand the real nature and extent of the problems with the state tax credit. It is widely estimated that 20 to 25 percent of all easements started […]

In a society that reportedly has a per capita resource consumption 25 times larger than the global average, it is not surprising that the gritty piece by Hannah Nordhaus has more than a grain of truth. To some degree, however, Nordhaus’ cozy interviews with the various perpetrators obscure the fact that pots and kettles come […]

I was very disappointed in the “Confessions of a Methane Floozy” article. The writer almost sounds like an energy industry hack. Her limited viewpoint and knowledge sound like another propaganda tool from the Bush administration: “You use the energy so accept the consequences.” I’m not sure where the numbers came from regarding the estimated percentage […]

Pepper Trail’s opinion column on salvage logging misses the mark, casting forest management in a one-dimensional, ecological way. Rather, forest management and salvage logging must be driven by sustainability. We live in a three-dimensional world — ecological, social and economic. It’s not a matter of balancing these, for balance implies they are separate. They are […]

I am shocked when I read letters like Linda Knowlton’s, supporting recreation user fees. The greatest period of public-land recreation-related infrastructure development in the United States occurred during and just after the Great Depression, when the nation was at its poorest. Now that we have experienced huge growth in the GDP and in the number […]