Anyone with business experience knows that you have to be in the meeting and at the table to influence policy. And crucial decisions happen in hallway encounters. Distancing Bureau of Land Management leadership from the Washington, D.C., power center (“Critics wary of moving BLM,” HCN, 7/22/19) will weaken the BLM leadership’s impact. This plan puts BLM political appointees […]
Not on homepage
For the long-term eco-good
Unfortunately, with most environmental problems, agreement on solutions is not easy to achieve (“Losing Lake Coeur d’Alene,” HCN, 6/24/19). I encourage you to keep up your efforts to provide scientific and economic reasons why we should continue to cooperate for the long-term good of all members or society. I was born and raised in southern Oregon, lived most […]
Loving lakes to death
I grew up near the Cataldo Mission, Idaho, in a dead zone (“Losing Lake Coeur d’Alene,” HCN, 6/24/19). As a teenager, I held swans in my arms as they died from lead poisoning. I graduated in 1978 and ran track, so I have felt the burn of sulfur dioxide in my throat and lungs. I am […]
See the journey to a new career at a wildland fire academy
Ex-gang members, veterans and immigrants alike take a three-month course to become California firefighters.
The pocket birding book gets a makeover
Imaginatively spunky illustrations accompany avian anecdotes in BirdNote.
Accolades and some new roles
New interns and a fellow arrive, and our editorial staff continues to morph.
Outdoor underachievers; mission massage; photo nots
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Staff dispatch to many destinations
And one gives a major gift of her own.
Memorial Rock; osprey survivor; fooling fish
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
An Irresponsible, Emotional Act
In 1971, we became irresponsible and emotional and legislated the National Wild-Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act. Wild horses and wild burros were made into political giants not to be managed carefully on public lands. The program was twofold: Leave horses and burros to graze feely on the public lands, and if the numbers increased […]
‘Feral’ horses
Thanks for putting “wild” in quotes in the article “Arizona’s Wild Horse Paradox” (HCN, 3/18/19). Could you either do that in the title next time, or better yet, refer to the animals as feral, which is what they actually are? Romanticizing them just makes them harder to manage. Cait RottlerEl Reno, Oklahoma This article appeared […]
Heartbreaking story
Crazy, heartbreaking investigation (“None of This Happened the Way You Think it Did,” HCN, 6/10/19). “No matter how much meaning their loved one’s body carried, someone else could have viewed it as a product, taken it apart, put it in a box and sold it.” Abbey GingrasSanta Fe, New Mexico This article appeared in the […]
Losing your mission
To me, this story has zero contact with HCN’s mission. It is simply a local crime story. Dennis OlmstedMontrose, Colorado This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Losing Your Mission.
On geotagging
Thank you for reminding us that nature is for everyone (“Five reasons to keep geotagging,” HCN, 6/10/19). I put lots of hiking and nature photos on my Instagram account and recently have read a bit about whether to geotag or not. This brief piece in the magazine helped me make my decision. Hayley BredenDenver, Colorado […]
Real, or parody?
In the most recent issue of HCN, I read a blurb that claimed that an organization called the Melanin Base Camp was accusing the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics of racist “gatekeeping” and of perpetuating “purity tests” (“Five reasons to keep geotagging”). As one who began reading HCN in 1974 and who has […]
Roswell arts and dragonflies
I lived in Roswell for 14 years, worked at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, and have a much less skewed view of Roswell than the authors of the article “Atomic Road Trip” (HCN, 5/13/19). The arts scene in Roswell is quite substantial, with four museums, active galleries, the New Mexico Military Institute and Bitter […]
Sign me up
Fine, fine, fine. I just subscribed to a couple years of the magazine, thanks to this story — largely because I should’ve done it a while ago and just never got around to it. Mark OlaldeWashington, D.C. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Sign me up.
Try being nice as a policy
It’s sad reading examples of religion bringing suffering to people’s lives (“The queer Mormon policy reversal is not enough,” HCN, 5/27/19). I was relieved near the end of the commentary to read that the author was no longer a practicing Mormon. Members of a church may think of themselves as devout and moral, but most […]
Unpretentious New Mexico
Interesting reaction to “The Atomic Road Trip” (Letters, HCN, 5/27/19). Don’t be so defensive. The essay focused on the sanitization of human history and the commercialization of most everything. The “Land of Enchantment” has everything to do with people. I love New Mexico. The best we can do is to be inconspicuous and unpretentious. Doug […]
Visual reporting has its place
I so enjoyed being introduced to the Nizhoni Girls’ music and story (“Nizhóní Girls,” HCN, 2/4/19). The decision by HCN to dive into a medium rarely seen in reporting made me think more deeply about what exactly journalism is, and why some forms might be unfairly thought of as less rigorous, less serious, or less […]
