...parts and pieces, would not totally transform Berners Bay from its present state of grace to one much degraded. William E. Brown is a retired National Park Service ranger-historian who came to Alaska in 1975. He is 74 years old and lives in...

...simply a matter of cost. The company chose to gamble that they could get away with the violation, and the legal proceedings resulted. We're all awaiting the court's decision. That's how the system works. William E. Brown Gustavus

...it is a terrible precedent that takes us back to late 19th century mining law and behavior, when "anything goes" was the standing rule. It will be a signal for the crashing of the gates on all public lands. William E. Brown Gustavus

...spraying program is a clumsy way to regenerate a spruce forest, just for starters. When the potential byproducts of this poisonous blunderbuss of a program are added to the mix, it doesn't make any sense at all. William E. Brown Gustavus

...being built, if ever (and Heaven forfend that as well). This is a crazy promotional scheme on the level of snake-oil. It should have been banished as a nightmare before it cast its pall upon the light of day. William E. Brown Gustavus

...nurseries for bountiful fish that sustain both wildlife and people. Here is a place that gives us and our wild companions a place to balance ourshares - as it is. Why can't such a place simply be left as it is? William E. Brown Gustavus

...organizations and national conservation groups. Because it would undo a montage of mutually supporting agreements and accommodations that has worked reasonably well for the wildlife and the people who dwell in the forest. William E. Brown Gustavus

...to please consider school uniforms as an option. On this ``Two sides to the Glacier Bay story'' column: This William E. Brown should stick with being an economics professor or with being a philosopher, because he's not very good at either...

...ferry and drive 85 miles for the privilege of using said ferry? And finally, why didn't the logic of terrain put the kibosh on this misbegotten project at the start? What a lot of trouble that would have saved. William E. Brown Gustavus

...long-standing laws in this country to get minerals on the cheap? With wise management, the salmon fisheries adjacent to both of these mines can last forever, if we don't poison the waters that nurture them. William E. Brown Gustavus