In January 1998 Michael Dombeck, U.S. Forest Service chief, called for an 18-month moratorium on building new logging roads into millions of acres of our national forests, as Ted Williams reported in "Clinton's Last Stand" [May-June]. What was exempted from this moratorium was the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest's forests, and smaller, ecologically significant roadless areas. I should like to urge you to continue to educate and inform your readers about the effects of industrial development in the forest on wildlife habitat. As Mr. Dombeck told Congress in 1998, "Logging in roadless areas no longer makes sense." We as a society must focus on long-term forest health, not just short-term timber supply.

National Audubon Society president John Flicker's article "Stand Up for the Mississippi" [The Audubon View, May-June] is shocking and appalling. By doubling the size of seven of the locks and expanding 36 dams, the Mississippi, as we know it, will be destroyed. Can't we find a nice deserted island for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? Let them build a bridge on top of a bridge or something, so in that way they will be kept occupied. Yes, it is time that we stand up and say, "Enough is enough." I myself petitioned to save the Mattaponi River, and now this. What's next? Maybe we should allow the government to dry up the Great Lakes and build huge parking lots. The May-June issue was a real eye-opener.

No Scratching

Thanks for bringing the downside of birding to light in "Loving Birds to Death" [Field Notes, May-June]. That a bird guide and wildlife biologist downplays the loss of a few hatchlings is both arrogant and sad. I am a birder, but I try to put birds first; I try not to disturb them, and I don't play calls or scratch on trees. The birds don't exist just to be added to our life lists. Ecotourism is not a panacea--I hope that people would pay to protect land just to know the species will continue to exist, even if they never get to see it. I know I would.

It's a Chem World

Great timing for your article "The Killer in Your Yard" [May-June]. We just moved into a small new development alongside a gorgeous conservation area. Our new neighbor came over to tell me that she had contracted with ChemLawn, just so we would know, "because of [our] baby and dogs." In fact, I had already seen the truck go by. But as kindly as possible, I proceeded to recite all the arguments about why she might consider not using anything like that on her lawn, which is adjacent to our prairie plantings and bluebird houses. I don't think it helped. I'm going to try to find a way to incorporate your "Audubon Guide to Home Pesticides" into some materials and distribute them to my neighbors. It's a difficult mission to get "out there" in the ChemLawn world, but I'm going to try.