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magazine / jf02
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January/February 2002 issue |
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Reverberations
Picture-perfect
The photo essay on the Saskatchewan Cree ("Woodland crossroads,"
CG Nov/Dec 2001) defies words. The person who made these images
must be truly a rare human being: the point of view is so intimate, it
is invisible; the care so deep, it almost hurts to watch. The entire feature
is a document of harrowing sensuousness and authenticity — a thing
of beauty.
It challenges what has become the convention: no sentimentality, no mawkishness,
no anthropological facetiousness or trite set-ups — no editorializing.
Thanks for having the eye to want to publish these images and the imagination
to know how.
Brian K. Murphy, Ottawa
Tagging in the name of science
I suppose i
am biased since, until retirement, I was a biologist with
the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. However, I feel tagging wildlife
is a necessary evil ("Intruding on wild lives," CG Nov/Dec
2001).
I tagged numerous Atlantic salmon on the Miramichi and Restigouche rivers
in New Brunswick to find out where the species migrated, who was harvesting
them and how the harvest affected salmon populations. Without the information
gleaned from these tagging efforts and those carried out by many others
in other provinces, we would have been hard-pressed to make management
decisions to ensure the survival of Atlantic salmon for future generations.
Anyone involved in the process of tagging realizes that it is a stressful
event for the species being tagged. We were careful to use only taggers
with an obvious desire to minimize the stress on the salmon. I know those
using tagging techniques on other animal species also have an interest
in, if not a love for, the species they are studying.
The objective should be to tag only when other techniques don't work
and with every sensitivity to each animal.
Gary Turner, Dartmouth, N.S.
Oak Ridges remembrances
I spent part of my
growing-up years living on the edge of Wilcox Lake, which lies on the
Oak Ridges Moraine ("Watershed down," CG Nov/Dec
2001).
As a child, I learned to swim in the lake. We fished in it in the summer
and played hockey on it in the winter. The fishing was good — we took
nice-sized pike, bass and many other smaller fish such as perch and sunfish.
I even remember them taking ice off the lake to be used in summer iceboxes.
It is sad to see its current state; hopefully, the pollution issues will
be corrected over time.
Charles Tricker, Delta, B.C.
I really don't
know what has happened to good land-use planning in our country.
When I took a geography class in environmental land use way back in 1971,
there was mention of an environmental plan centred on the Oak Ridges Moraine.
Whatever happened to these studies and plans that were designed to protect
these sensitive areas?
I visited the region this summer, and it doesn't look in the least
like I had envisioned it turning out 30 years ago. When we left Ontario,
the Niagara Escarpment was at risk, and now look at the development there.
Louise Holloway, Lumsden, Sask.
Home, street home
I enjoyed "Street
smart," the article on the legacy of Mennonites who did not want
to live in isolation on the Canadian Prairies (CG Nov/Dec
2001).
One of the historical strengths of their faith was that they lived close
together, working collectively on many common tasks within the community.
The picture of families joining in the butchering of pigs in late fall
brought back many memories of my childhood and demonstrated the reason
for not living in isolation.
The article and pictures were quite faithful to the history of how and
why my ancestors came to Canada and how the beliefs they lived by influenced
generations of Canadians such as myself.
Cliff Boldt, Union Bay, B.C.
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* Letters may be edited for length, accuracy and liability.
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