Dear Editor:
I read with interest your April 3 article about Sen. Emery's proposal to give federal lands to the states and I find fault and flaw in the senator's motives.
If the states controlled the federal lands, Sen. Emery said, "They would probably look for opportunities where there were, for example, any kind of precious minerals or anything else that could be mined (or) timber that should be taken care of."
It sounds to me like the misguided senator only wants to exploit the land, to rape and pillage for capital gains. I wish the senator had a little more compassion for this planet we live on. I wish the senator would pay a little more attention to wiser men like Professor Aldo Leopold.
Aldo Leopold said it best when he described land use, "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."
Leopold describes land as a community that includes soils, waters, plants and animals. The land ethic conceived by Leopold is sadly missing from the senator's moral compass.
Leopold also said that the hardest task in human history is to live on a piece of land without spoiling it. I would say to the senator and all of our legislators, it is your task, your obligation, to govern without spoiling the land.
We live in a complex natural community that can be easily destroyed but never be recreated. Sen. Emery, think again. Exploitation is not a viable legislative option.
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