‘Forests of Gasoline’
News, May 14
To the editor:
I was very sorry to see you publish the story ‘Forests of Gasoline’ on forest fire in NM by Kathleene Parker.I respect her long history of journalism in northern NM, but this piece was biased, hyperbolic and based on misinformation about fire ecology and ignores the recent efforts by stakeholders to accomplish fuel reduction in our forests over the last two decades. She writes as though nothing has been done, which is quite the opposite of the truth.
Wildfire is driven by three variables (unlike what Ms. Parker wrote): fuel, topography and weather. Unfortunately, with climate change, weather is now the most important variable. Under extreme weather and drought conditions, nothing stops large conflagrations, like Las Conchas or the South Fork Fire in the Sacramento Mountains last year. The South Fork Fire is a good example, despite many years of forest thinning and fuels reduction by the Village, the USFS and the Mescalero Tribe, that fire ripped right through all the treated acres and into the Village.
A little research will also reveal many, many acres of fuel treatments and thinning in the state of New Mexico over the last two decades. Thinning forests far from homes and communities is akin to throwing money into the flames, we need to concentrate our limited resources where we know it will make a difference and prepare ourselves for the inevitability of wildfire, and, yes, taking action on climate change is still advised.
Bryan Bird, Santa Fe
Homeless ID Project Suited for Santa Fe?
To the editor:
Why is it, particularly with internet capabilities, we often don’t look for answers beyond our noses? In 1987, the Rev. Gerald Roseberry spent 30 days among the homeless in Arizona to understand how best to help. One conclusion was without ID, the homeless were “stuck.” He founded the Ecumenical Chaplaincy for the homeless in 1988 which changed its name to the Homeless ID Project in 2014.
Top reasons homeless people don’t have an ID are loss/theft, domestic abuse/control, eviction/locked out, aged out of foster system. Lack of ID affects employment, housing, education, medical care and social services. The Project’s belief statement: “A person’s ability to get a piece of paper or plastic card should not be what stops them from ending their homelessness.”
The Project’s services include replacement ID and secure document storage. The non-profit can be found at www.homelessidproject.org. Why can’t we replicate that service here?
TJ Taub, Santa Fe
