Letters to the editor Sept. 15
Hog invasion
The feral hog article (Sept. 8) was informative, but also discouraging.
On one hand it states that if the hogs cross the border from Canada the invasion would be “the likes of which the state has never seen.” On the other hand, Montana is supposedly actively involved and asking local people to “share any sightings so the likelihood of detection is high.” Seems like a weak defense.
Throw in Senate Bill 100 that will penalize anyone caught transporting, hunting or generally possessing the swine and it doesn’t seem like the situation is remotely covered. If it is, the article did not offer specifics.
Do we wait until a landowner yells, “The hogs are here, the hogs are here!” and they try to shoo them back across the border? How have Washington and Oregon, where eradication efforts have been successful, achieved this goal? Was that where the photo of the USDA field specialist was taken?
Lastly, a campaign called squeal on pigs sounds so silly it seems designed for 5-year-olds. No wonder the hogs are advancing.
—Diane Myslicki, Kila
Scenic trail lawsuit
This letter is addressing the article (Aug. 28) by Duncan Adams about the Yaak Valley Forest Council’s lawsuit to reroute the Pacific Northwest Scenic Trail out of the Yaak Valley to supposedly protect the grizzly bears.
Of course the obvious fallacy of this option is that the Pacific Northwest Scenic Trail originates in the heart of Glacier National Park, which has the largest concentrations of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states, and at least 10 times the number of grizzlies believed to be living in the Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone.
I don’t recall any incident where a grizzly killed any thru-hiker on the PNWT or any incident where a grizzly had to be killed because of a thru-hiker conflict.
It seems some would think all of our grizzlies are either man killers, or so shy that they would die of heart attacks if they spotted a hiker.
I remember not too many years ago when a group of “concerned citizens” brought lawsuits against the forest service on behalf of another endangered species, the spotted owl, which resulted in the shut down of the logging industry in the Northwest.
The spotted owl worked out so well against the loggers, will the grizzly bear work out as well against the hikers?
Beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
—Robert Cheshire, Noxon
Reject anti-gun legislation
Mr. Bob Brown (‘The guts to stand up to guns’ Sept. 8) has an obvious dislike for the modern sporting rifle aka black rifles. He doesn’t define “high capacity” but I am guessing that anything over three to five rounds is high capacity to RINO Bob. Shotguns have had high-capacity magazines for over a decade. One type of shotgun doesn’t use detachable magazines but will take a 25-round box of shotgun shells to load it.
Some black rifle shooters are capable of hitting targets in excess of 1,000 yards which makes certain politicians sweat and want to seize all of our guns. Which has been their goal all along. The American Communist Party of old, which has now morphed into the modern-day Democrat Party, wants to seize all guns to create a strong centralized government so there’s no resistance to their socialist ideals.
I would suggest that our three Congressmen represent the majority of voters in Montana and reject all proposed legislation that is anti-gun owner. Instead, they should support legislation that gives gun owners and especially concealed carry permit holders the opportunity to carry everywhere. In other words, kill zones, where law abiding folks can’t carry a gun, offer the deranged an opportunity to cause mayhem and are searched out by these deviants before they commit their acts. Whereas if a concealed carry person was present he/she could stop the carnage before it even got started.
In 2017 rifles accounted for 403 murders, whereas baseball bats and the like killed 467 people. Hands, fists, feet, etc., accounted for 696 deaths and knives finished off 1,591 folks. Handguns killed 7,032. It is critical that Congress get rid of all kill zones as handguns are the problem and that the best way to deal with that problem is a good person with a handgun.
—Norm Johnson, Polson
Personal and national protection
The Sept. 8 Montana Perspectives shows a picture of someone buying an AR 15 in California. They are now illegal in California, where the crime rate is many times Montana’s and their gun laws have many more restrictions than Montana.
The Second Amendment was written to protect our rights, and personal and national protection. If only the militia and Continental Army were allowed to have guns we would still be part of England. Japan contemplated invasion of our nation prior to World War II but changed their minds when they realized how many guns we had.
Limited size of magazines (clips) would not make much difference. Police and military are trained to change magazines in seconds and individuals can also learn to do that.
Shotguns only have a limit of three rounds for most bird hunting, and most pump and semi-auto shotguns can remove a plug or change the fixed magazine to hold more.
John F. Kennedy was shot with a bolt action long barrel WW1 and WW2 type rifle.
—Dexter Hamilton, Kalispell