Do not build unauthorized cairns – Moving rocks disturbs the soil and makes the area more prone to erosion. Disturbing rocks also disrupt fragile vegetation and microecosystems. And, by the way, it is selfish and ruins others’ views. NPS photo.
Leaving a Cairn as a Trail Marker is a great idea
Spencer Durrant is a fly fishing writer, guide, bamboo rod builder, and novelist from Utah. He’s the News Editor for MidCurrent and a regular contributor to Hatch Magazine. Spencer has also written a book titled “Learning to Fly.” Connect with him on Instagram/Twitter, @Spencer_Durrant.
Henry Clement, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, August 2023.
By Henry Clement
Leaving a cairn by a small stream or waterfall spoils the scene and reveals a lack of consideration for others. You’ve ruined the view.
Managing our wilderness areas is essential, and over 71 percent of the voting American public believes these areas should be preserved in their natural state.
Trump
This perspective seems entirely foreign to those who idolize the MAGA movement. MAGA is characterized by chaos, benefiting the ultra-rich while undermining one of our greatest ideals: the preservation of public lands. Our current leadership aims to manage public wilderness areas through appointed individuals who have proven to be unfit for the task.
In return for yielding to MAGA, they promise that the public will be able to view these repurposed wilderness areas through holes in barbed wire fences.
Mr. Trump encourages us to ignore climate concerns, abandon weather monitoring, cut funding for scientific research at universities, and halt collaborations with other democratic nations on earth sciences.
Will there be ‘Stechschritt’ at the birthday celebration?
Are we moving toward a disturbing imitation of North Korean or Nazi-style parades, complete with tanks and aerial displays? The military estimates the cost at $45 million, but it’s likely to exceed $92 million. Instead of helping wounded veterans, we seem to be insulting them.
Poor and willful is the key ingredient of MAGA planning
Dismissing environmental issues with irrational approaches is not a sensible way to manage our public lands. If you support MAGA, you are contributing to the devastation of our environment. Think about the importance of clean water and clean air. Instead, let’s hold on to our best ideals: public lands. I yearn for a day spent on the flats with a bonefish or along a forested river where trout are rising.
Let me ride my bike in the wilderness, hike through the woods, and hunt in nature so that my grandchildren can also experience these wild places.
Why, oh why can’t we?
Perhaps we are not positive enough to believe that “someday we’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the MAGAs are far behind us.”
Adult Steelhead illustration by Thom Glace. The freshwater form of the steelhead is the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The difference between these forms of the species is that steelhead migrate to the ocean and return to freshwater tributaries to spawn. In contrast, non-anadromous rainbow trout do not leave freshwater. Steelhead are also larger and less colorful than rainbow trout. Steelhead can weigh up to 55 lb (25 kg) and reach 45 in (110 cm) in length. They can live up to 11 years and spawn multiple times.
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