For those undecided about wilderness

The following is for all those undecided (the independents) about the ongoing controversy to designate more land as “wilderness”:

“It is not long since man thought of himself as the center of the universe, thought even of the Sun — the very source of all our life — as a light by day revolving about the Earth. As our new understanding has come — through science — science also has brought us many other new and wonderful discoveries, and the new knowledge of what we are has been overlooked by many of us in our eagerness for the new knowledge of what we can do. We have become as proud over what we can do as ever our ancestors could have been over themselves as the center of the universe.

“We deeply need the humility to know ourselves as the dependent members of a great community of life, and this can indeed be one of the spiritual benefits of a wilderness experience. Without the gadgets, the inventions, the contrivances whereby men have seemed to establish among themselves an independence of nature, without these distractions, to know the wilderness is to know a profound humility, to recognize one's littleness, to sense dependence and interdependence, indebtedness, and responsibility.

“Perhaps, indeed, this is the distinctive ministration of wilderness to modern man, the characteristic effect of an area which we most deeply need to provide for in our preservation programs.”

— Howard Zahniser (Author of the Wilderness Act), from “The Need for Wilderness Areas”

Gary Pax

Carbondale

Support the Gems

I recently attend the film festival on the environment held in Vail Eagle Valley and met the group Hidden Gems and found their work extremely important for all of us to support. I urge all the county commissioners and Congressional representatives to know and understand the work they are doing for all of us, for now and in the future, to have a wilderness that we can all enjoy. The areas they are attempting to include in the wilderness area are what makes our valley such an awesome place to live. Biologically they are “gems” because they preserve some of our richest wildlife habitat.

Please think of our legacy to the future and support this proposal.

Phyllis and Frank Dobyns

Vail

Help those who can't speak English

Many authors of letters to the editor in this paper are clearly very unhappy about the number of residents of our valley who can't speak English. A local nonprofit, Literacy Outreach, has a waiting list of non-English speakers who are eager to learn English. I would like to suggest that those unhappy letter writers consider volunteering as tutors. That way they can be part of a solution instead of just complaining about a problem. Literacy Outreach can be reached at 945-5282.

Ted Edmonds

Glenwood Springs

A great new store

I am writing this letter in regards to our valley's newest firearm store, “Sopris Shooters Supply.”

They have only been in business going on two months, but I must say they truly know what they are talking about and aren't in the business just to sell products to you and then blow you off. I have taken all my hunting/firearm business to Sopris Shooters.

They not only carry the top of the line, and highest quality, products but the gentlemen there will answer any and every question you may have when it comes to firearms and accessories.

They are the utmost honest guys in the business and will never lead you in the wrong direction. They are incredibly knowledgeable and in all my experiences and purchases through them, they have explained and contoured to all of my firearm needs.

I truly believe our valley has needed a hunting and firearm store just like this for several years. Pay them a visit and you'll realize exactly what I mean. They're located just south of Glenwood Springs on Highway 82, “across the from Buffalo Valley, and in the upstairs of the Fiber Forge building.”

Justin Montover

Glenwood Springs