Letter to the editor

Bush conservatives believe America must find a free-market energy future. They also believe in “states’ rights” to refuse federal mandates and chart their own course. Yet these same conservatives are now pushing a new era of nuclear power for the U.S., one that would be subsidized by the $8 billion (and counting) federal waste-disposal facility […]

I would like to respond to Liz Ellis’s letter regarding her position on the cowardly and now infamous “Burns Amendment” (HCN, 5/2/05: Wild horses harm ecosystems). The Burns ploy has nothing to do with flora and fauna. It has everything to do with killing off (literally) the grazing competition, providing further impetus to the horse-slaughterhouses […]

The Wilderness Act celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, loudly and publicly. This year, the 40th anniversary of the Land and Water Conservation Fund is going nearly unnoticed, and the fund remains under constant threat (HCN, 5/2/05: As threats loom, conservation dollars disappear). This money is vital to the future of public lands in the […]

Rich Fairbanks can be proud of the work he did in opting for 96 million board-feet to be cut on the Biscuit salvage (HCN, 5/16/05: Unsalvageable). The claim by OSU’s John Sessions that 2.5 billion board-feet could be salvaged was ludicrous. The regional Washington office estimate that 518 million board-feet could be salvaged was also […]

I don’t know where HCN editor Paul Larmer lives, but his statement about the U.S. Forest Service that, “Instead of being the primary driver of all management activities, logging has evolved into just another tool — like fire and erosion control — to be employed in maintaining healthy forests” sounds as if the Forest Service […]

Readers of HCN’s excellent story on the effort to bring more clean, renewable energy to the West might think that the settlement agreement on the proposed coal plant in Pueblo, Colo., will somehow reduce pollution (HCN, 5/02/05: The Winds of Change). While it is true that the agreement will reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and […]

I’m having a hard time getting too enthused about wind energy (HCN, 5/02/05: The Winds of Change). The idea of solving our energy woes by harnessing wind sounds wonderful, but the reality is less appealing. The California Energy Commission lists wind power as 1.5 percent of its total electricity production for 2003. The sprawl of […]

The inherent variability of wind energy makes it hard to integrate into the grid (HCN, 5/02/05: The Winds of Change). Coal, gas, nuclear, biomass, geothermal and hydro plants can all be dialed up or down to meet the constantly fluctuating electricity loads. With wind, you get what you get. At 1 percent of production, as […]

I am writing to congratulate Ray Ring on his analysis of the Libby disaster and how it relates to the environmental movement (HCN, 2/21/05: Where were the environmentalists when Libby needed them most?). He has unearthed the arrogance and elitism that are so pervasive in the “environmental activist” movement. It’s easy to fight “evil” corporations […]

I am writing in response to your coverage of Dave Foreman’s essay (HCN, 4/18/05: Dear Friends). Although I respect what Dave Foreman means to the environmental movement, the tactics of his finger-pointing are destructive, shortsighted, ill-timed and wrong. It is critical for the environmental movement to build bridges, re-think strategies, and appeal to the younger […]

Editor’s Note: Mr. Rosenthal had a lengthy response to our story, Write-Off on the Range. In the interest of allowing him to fully express his thoughts, we include below a letter from Mr. Rosenthal and the edits that Mr. Rosenthal would have made to the story if he were the editor. High Country News stands […]

Shara Rutberg’s article “Do you want fries with that mustang?” does not provide a workable solution to preventing long-term damage to the rangeland ecosystem from wild horse overgrazing (HCN, 4/04/05: Do you want fries with that mustang?). The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act protects wild horses so there will always be a place for […]

I’m a rancher and grazing permittee in Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin. Our family ranch has used adjacent BLM and USFS permits since the early 1900s, and I found “The Big Buyout” quite interesting (HCN, 4/04/05: The Big Buyout). I’d add a few comments for your consideration: Mary Flitner This article appeared in the print edition of […]

Jennie Lay’s very nice piece on gas drilling near the 1969 Rulison Plowshare nuclear blast shows a slightly misplaced concern of local residents that radioactive materials might be released by the new drilling (HCN, 3/7/05: Drilling could wake a sleeping giant). Their bigger concern should be contamination of groundwater by the nasty stuff put in […]

Drifter Smith is correct that interest in floating the Grand Canyon has increased dramatically in the last three decades (HCN, 2/21/05: Let’s not ram more boats through the Grand Canyon). There are many reasons for this. Rafting equipment has become safer, more reliable and less expensive. Opportunities to learn boating skills, low-impact camping skills, and […]

Regarding “You want fries with that mustang?” (HCN, 4/4/05: You want fries with that mustang?): I’ve worked in the Mojave Desert of California and in eastern Oregon, and in both areas, one could find “wild” horses, “wild” burros and cattle. What these animals all have in common are the following: 1) They are not native, […]

Thank you for the recent story and comments on grazing buyouts. We were especially taken by Executive Director Paul Larmer’s evocative description of the seasonality of grazing in the Paonia area, with its blend of low-elevation private lands, where cows have their calves, and its high-elevation public lands, where cows summer. Paul’s delightful soliloquy of […]

I was surprised to learn in Assistant Interior Secretary Rebecca Watson’s response to High Country News that I am not a citizen because I am involved in environmental advocacy groups (HCN, 2/21/05: HCN has it wrong on Bush). Watson writes, “Furthermore, the term, ‘citizen-proposed wilderness’ belies the very kind of truth to which you attach […]

The April Fool’s page was delicious (HCN: 4/4/05: The last happy agency biologist — and other April Foolery). Just sneaky enough that it took a couple of minutes to feel my leg being pulled. Bill Kent Moab, Utah This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline A little leg-pulling.

Thank you for covering the recent controversy over the potential devastation of Oak Flats, a popular bouldering and camping area just outside of Phoenix (HCN, 4/4/05: Rock jocks fight a mining company). But I am increasingly frustrated with High Country News and its staff for portraying climbers in a condescending manner. This is the third […]