Letters to the Editor

More News, Less Fluff

Dear Editor,

A number of years ago while visiting the Southern Appalachians for birding and botanizing, I picked up a copy of your newsletter and I have been an avid reader of it ever since. It has encouraged me to take many trips to the area since, which, of course, helps the local economy in many ways. Being a conservationist and preservationist, I look forward to every issue in order to keep abreast of things that are going on in one of the critical natural environments on our planet.

However, in some of the recent issues I feel that you are seriously straying from the original intent of the newsletter and from the kinds of news that those of us working in the environmental field crave to read and become familiar with. The June/July 2009 [issue] is a case in point. Other than some interesting, appropriate, and necessary advertisements, the first nine pages contain the types of articles that one can find in numerous journals, magazines, and on the internet. I don’t expect to find in this kind of newsletter articles about kayaking, trail building, and gardening.
This information can easily be found elsewhere.

But the remainder of the June/July 2009 issue is VERY interesting and appropriate. It contains much information about events and issues that concern the Appalachian region that I cannot find elsewhere.

I would hope that in the future you will stress the environmental issues in your newsletter and leave the people–activity articles to other publications where they are more appropriate. Of course, I realize that in order to make a publication viable and not lose money, one has to occasionally publish items that are attractive to the masses who will make monetary contributions. However, in my opinion you went overboard in the [June/July] issue.

Sincerely yours,
Richard C. Rosche