Letters: Kicking Butte

Having always enjoyed your magazine, I was shocked by Mark Levine's "As the Snake Did Away with the Geese" (September). The pit that he describes haunts many of us, and the death of the 342 snow geese was horrible. Yet while many of the problems Levine enumerates have merit, I found the rest of the article flawed and nasty. Butte is not an evil entity. It is simply a town trying to recover from a mining legacy that gave it a rich history-and some serious environmental problems.

Andrea Stierle
Butte, Montana

As a resident of the wasteland that Levine calls Butte America, let me say that he should be applauded for seeing the town as it really is. Butte is not a place to live. It should be condemned and left alone.

Darien Hayden
Butte, Montana

Mediawrenching 101
Earth First! broke the mold when it comes to infusing the environmental movement with "whupass" ("We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Fledgling Monkeywrenchers," October). But it's encouraging that they're ingratiating themselves with the media. Mainstream Americans need only a glimpse of a nose ring to justify the belief that "those wacky tree-huggers are all high."

Danielle Desrosiers-Boyer
Spokane, Washington

Camper Hillary Hosta's suggestion that even loggers can be "part of the solution" if they're working toward sustainability is a good tip. True environmentalists should take the time to find out who's doing a responsible job and support those who practice a light touch on the land. Sound bites talk, but money talks much louder.

Clover Coyner
Princeton, Idaho

Fauna, Fauna Everywhere?
We were very disappointed by Philip Gourevitch's "Wondering Where the Lions Are" (October). The other clients rated the trip very good to excellent. They did not see vast herds of ungulates and camp in romantic settings with cocktails, but reports from guide Gavin Ford show that the group did track two separate herds of elephant, a large herd of cape buffalo, a herd of giraffe, a herd of rhino, and a pride of lions. We go to great lengths to emphasize to our clients that our kind of travel isn't predictable, which is why it's called adventure travel. Our impression of Gourevitch was that though his political reporting is generally excellent, his views on tourism veer toward the negative.

Jim Sano
Geographic Expeditions
San Francisco, California

Back Into Thin Air
Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" (September) was absolutely accurate. Both guide and client should be aware that with the exchange of money, they've formed a partnership that must be maintained throughout the climb. I spent time with Rob Hall in Antarctica two years ago and gained the utmost respect for him. There is no question that he could have made it off Everest on his own-but he was a guide with clients. The guiding industry can learn much from this tragedy: Understand your role in the partnership, temper your client's desire with your own sound judgment, and remember, you're only as strong as your weakest client.

Peter Whittaker
Eatonville, Washington

Some words from Faulkner's The Unvanquished ring true in light of Krakauer's report: "honor denied with honor, courage denied with courage ... put to the ultimate test and proving nothing save the finality of death and the vanity of all endeavor."

Thomas J. Moore
Boone, North Carolina

Woof!
Loved your article on heroic pooches ("It's Just the Dog in Them," October). It was classic reading, much appreciated by those with four-legged friends. You might consider dedicating a page or two to "Dogs That Lack Any Courage Whatsoever."

Bob and Barb Patterson
Buffalo, New York

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