(letters)

A Special Special Issue

I was thrilled to receive the Everglades issue [July-August], and I immediately read it from cover to cover. Thank you, Audubon, for recognizing all the complexities surrounding the Everglades and for printing the truth about the issues involved. My family has lived around Lake Okeechobee for many generations. I had the good fortune of working on a project with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, identifying aquatic invertebrates as water-quality indicators. And I became friends with Don Fox and Paul Gray ["Big Water Blues"], in addition to numerous other biologists fighting to protect "our" lake. I am grateful to those who have chosen to dedicate themselves to this tremendous task.

Karla Scroggin Grimwood
Carnation, WA

I have just finished reading the Everglades issue. This is one of the best issues I have seen since subscribing, and I read it cover to cover. I have never visited southern Florida, but I remember reading fishing articles about the bass in Lake Okeechobee--those articles just seem to have disappeared. There is one thing that you failed to mention in the issue's "What You Can Do" section: When buying citrus, buy organic. Let your consumer dollars talk for you; individuals can collectively affect an industry and how it operates.

Keith Detweiler
Stewartstown, PA

Spectacular Alligator

I really enjoyed the beauty of the Everglades as depicted in the July-August issue. The alligator cover was spectacular! I am glad that there are still places like Big Cypress National Preserve. Egrets, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, and every other creature of this enchanting land needs to be preserved and allowed to live naturally in their habitats for future generations to observe and study.

Lydia Ayala
Vallejo, CA

Troubling

"The Everglades Rises Again" is a wonderful description of the immensely complex factors that are involved in environmental conservation. The economic, political, and environmental forces that brought about the steps now being taken to bring back the Everglades were the same forces that led to the environmental degradation of the Everglades. However, one of the most significant economic, political, and environmental activities that negatively impacted the Everglades was not woven into the tapestry of the issue's Timeline ["Forever Glades"]. In 1928, when the Tamiami Trail was opened, it was viewed as an engineering marvel. The trail, now a focus point in the Everglades restoration project, is arguably the most ecologically devastating event to have occurred in the history of human involvement with the River of Grass.

Thomas Cravens
Naples, FL

Remember the Miccosukee

Immediately upon receiving the July-August Audubon, I perused the articles, looking for mention of the part Florida's native tribes played in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). I found nothing. In April, when I visited the Miccosukee Tribe near Miami, we were briefed on CERP and [the tribe's] involvement in it. I suggest a visit to the Miccosukee Environmental Resource Center to find out how much the tribe is actually involved and the amount of funding it has allocated to CERP. You are missing the Native American affiliation to those species [that live] in the Everglades.

Robert Quitiquit
Robinson Rancheria Environmental Center
Nice, CA

Ode to Okeechobee

Once again Ted Williams has provided us lesser mortals with a piece that does more than enlighten and educate. "Big Water Blues" [July-August] touches the soul. I have read the first paragraph over and over, not just for its surprising information that the lake was America's last frontier, but also for its poetic use of the language. I was recently asked which writer's work has influenced my own. "Ted Williams," I answered without hesitation. This piece is just one example of why that is so.

Kay Charter
Omena, MI

From Heaven to Hell?

I was born and raised, lived, worked, and played in the Appalachian area for many years. I loved those mountains passionately, and I still do. West Virginia is, indeed, "almost heaven." I've just finished reading Ted Williams's "Mountain Madness" in the May-June issue. His revelations of the destruction of the mountains by the coal companies are absolutely heartbreaking to anyone who cares about the outdoors. I wish I could thrust this article into the hands of lawmakers who could stop this--and indeed into the hands of all of the public who cares about nature at all. I am growing old, and I will not be here to see the end result of this atrocity. But I care deeply that my grandchildren (and yours) will never see the beauty that is the Appalachians.

Mary E. Kuhn
Chicago, IL

Thank you for printing Ted Williams's "unbalanced" article on mountain razing in your May-June issue ["Mountain Madness"]. I'm afraid Bill Raney [of the West Virginia Coal Association] will never get his balanced story, unless it is written by a graduate of the association. It is perverse that the West Virginia coal industry will only show the public a reclamation site in May--sorry, Bill, but the plant and animal world just can't adapt to your 11-month hibernation schedule.

Jay Lustgarten
North Bellmore, NY

Green House, Too

I have just read the article entitled "Green House" in the March-April Audubon, and I was pleased to discover that our family is taking the same steps to reduce energy consumption in our home as the climatologist in the story is taking in his. While I am an architectural historian and my husband is a lawyer, we are gravely concerned about global warming. We, too, are making gradual changes to reduce our contribution to the problem. Just by replacing our old washer and dryer with the Fisher & Paykel models you cite and our dishwasher with a Bosch, we've cut about $40 per month off our electric bill. If you have children, you are told you have to have a minivan, but we've also replaced our station wagon with a Toyota Prius, which we love. I hope some of the steps we're taking can show people that positive change is within their reach.

Meg Vickery
Amherst, MA

20/20 Vision

I have been a member of Audubon since 1984, and over the years I've seen numerous changes in the style, makeup, and even the character of Audubon magazine. I have been most favorably impressed by recent alterations. I warmly applaud the quality of the articles and photography. I consider your special issue on the Everglades to be superb. The idea behind this offering of a special issue is timely and appropriate. [National] Audubon deserves a warm "thank you" for being one of the partners in creating the comprehensive plan to restore the Everglades. In the Book of Proverbs, there is this saying: "Without a vision the people perish." Your vision of a thousand nature centers by 2020 affords both testimony and a promise to the quality and timeliness of Audubon's place on the American scene. Good for you!

Carleton Schaller Jr.
Littleton, NH