Letter from Bill Hatcher
Colorado Central – March 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
Dear Cozine,
I enjoy your coverage of Colorado issues and events. Thanks. Keep it up.
Here are some opinions/comments on the Feb ’08 mag that I’d like to share:
1. The plumber/lion account on page 7.
First, I’m glad that plumber got out from underneath that house with nary a scratch. Second, I’m saddened that the lion was killed merely for being a persistently resourceful cat. If I was a mountain lion, I too would be looking for just such a cozy, defensible spot like a crawl space. And anyone rooting around in such places in rural Colorado should expect as much. How to deal? Tranquilize.
Too expensive, you say? Then check page 8, same issue. Snow has been hard on wildlife this winter. So hard, in fact, that the DOW has started an emergency feeding program for muleys, and each muley munch equals a dollar sign. But, there are just too many of the critters around, and they’ll starve. And we can’t let that happen, lest the autumn hunting contingent get ruffled. But, alas, if we only had more predators, then this might not be as much of a problem, eh?
2. SLV Brief Briefs, page 5, same issue.
The BLM wants to swap almost 2,700 acres for water rights to irrigate Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area near Alamosa, with public comments taken until Feb. 2. (where? what web site? who to call?) Meanwhile, each Alamosa city employee will get up to 7,500 gallons of free water per month. Just curious, but does the right hand know what the left one’s up to?
3. And finally, Mountain Bikers, page 7, same issue.
In short, too bad. I bike and climb and ski and hike and, in fact, teach others how to do the same, responsibly. And there’s the key rub: responsibility. Ethics, by their very nature, implore we humans to make sacrifices for the good of the whole, the environment, and even for ourselves. My opinion: We can never have enough wilderness designated in this state, country, world. So, to the mountain bikers of SW Colorado, I say, dismount and grow up. It’s not all about you.
That’s all for now. Thanks for taking a minute to peruse.
Bill Hatcher