Letters to the Editor - June 19, 2025

Save our public lands before it is too late

By the end of the 19th century in the United States, many animals and birds had been decimated by overhunting. The most notable was the passenger pigeon, which existed in massive numbers but went extinct from overhunting, as did the Eastern elk, which was declared extinct in 1880. This occurred due to a combination of overhunting, loss of habitat, and a lack of knowledge of conservation.

When he was merely 26 years old, Theodore Roosevelt traveled west to see buffalo and discovered only skulls of the animals on the vast plains. This made such an impression on him that when he became President years later, he created the U.S. Forest Service, 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five additional national parks, and 18 national monuments using the 1906 Antiquities Act.He wanted to leave the American people a treasure for future generations to enjoy by preserving the magnificent land of this country and the animals and birds which lived here.

Today there are more than 430 national parks across 85 million acres in every state and territory of our country. Millions of Americans each year visit our national parks which stimulates the economy and brings jobs to those states.

The Trump administration is the first administration not to add land to the national parks but to try to destroy them. Many park personnel have been fired, so keeping the parks open to the public has become a problem. Now the Trump administration wants to hand the national parks over to the states to run, which would be a financial burden for many states. The Trump administration also wants to open the national parks for mineral extraction, mining, logging, and drilling for corporate profit. They are asking the Department of the Interior and of Agriculture to reinstate oil and gas leases on the public lands and to revoke drilling protections in lands from Alaska to Wyoming and from New Mexico to Pennsylvania.

The millions of acres of our national parks — from the Arctic National Wildlife Sanctuary to the Everglades—have thus far been saved for future generations and have protected hundreds of threatened and endangered species. This includes over one million acres of wildlife migration corridors and five thousand miles of streams and rivers, plus watersheds that collectively supply drinking water for over two million people.

Exploiting the parks and public lands by this administration would destroy our country’s public lands and its wildlife for future generations of Americans. We must speak out now to stop this destruction before it is too late.

Lizbeth Piel

Sharon

Clarifying Concept 6 and the Pope Property

Lorraine Faison raised important issues in her recent letter to the Lakeville Journal (June 12th) concerning the ecology of the Pope Property.Many others (including myself) share Ms. Faison’s concern that concept plans were developed absent a thorough understanding of the Pope site’s underlying ecological attributes.The site’s ecology must guide any proposed development and infrastructure planning.

At the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity and Housatonic Valley Association’s Northwest Connecticut Affordable Housing & Conservation Collaboration meeting on May 16th at Salisbury Town Hall, I was quite clear that Concept Plan 6 could no longer serve as the guidepost for development of this site.That position was strongly supported by several meeting attendees.

One statement in Ms. Faison’s letter requires correction/clarification.Although I am the Chair of Salisbury’s Planning and Zoning Commission, the ecological analyses being conducted on behalf of the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity and the Town of Salisbury are not in my elected capacity, but as an ecological consultant.

For those who may be unaware, since 2002 I have served as a consultant, advising a wide range of clients including agencies at the federal, state and municipal levels, as well as conservation groups, developers, corporations, and grass roots citizen groups. My focus has been on how to best use scientific data to create project outcomes based upon comprehensive ecological understanding and best development principles. There have been questions about my qualifications to conduct such research.I have decades of field experience studying New England’s turtles and vernal pools and have authored many peer-reviewed publications on these subjects, as well as herpetology in general.

It is premature to discuss in detail the results of my work, but I will touch on several general points.The study is taking place on both the Pope Property as well as Trotta Field.Those two Town-owned properties are contiguous and share the same riparian ecosystem, so it makes good “ecological sense” to study and subsequently manage these parcels together.Additionally, these investigations are not limited to the areas that need to be conserved, but also areas that should be managed and restored for the benefit of wood turtles and other important species.

While there is space on the site to accommodate both housing and recreation infrastructure, the ecological constraints of these properties warrant a smaller development footprint than anticipated by the concepts presented by the Pope Land Design Committee.The end result is that considerably more land will need to be dedicated for habitat conservation, habitat management, and habitat restoration.

Michael W. Klemens, PhD

Lakeville

North Canaan concern

I am writing in opposition to the tripartite ordinance to create four-year appointed terms for the positions of Treasurer, Tax Collector and Town Clerk in its proposed form.

While I am not necessarily opposed to shifting these positions from elected officials to appointed employees, I feel strongly that the upcoming town meeting is the wrong venue for this ordinance. The Board of Selectmen only just proposed this ordinance at the most recent Board of Selectmen meeting on June 2. The town meeting to decide on this matter has been set for June 23, and this proposed change was only announced in the town newsletter on June 13. I believe the timing of the proposition and its announcement in the newsletter ten days prior to the town meeting does not give the residents of the town sufficient time to consider the ordinance. This ordinance should instead be put to the town as a ballot proposition in November. This would allow the selectmen and the Board of Finance to determine how such a change might impact the town budget and whether these positions should be combined in any way. Residents are being asked to vote on a significant change to municipal operations without any clear indication of how this change may affect the town budget.

Furthermore, I believe that if this ordinance goes forward, it should be amended so that the appointment of a Treasurer, Tax Collector or Town Clerk should be approved by all three selectmen, rather than by a simple majority vote of two selectmen. Since these positions are essential to the smooth operation of municipal business, all three selectmen should be in agreement on any appointments.

The conversion of these positions from elected to appointed may indeed be beneficial for the town of North Canaan. However, I believe the residents of North Canaan should be given more time to consider this proposal.

Chris Jacques

Chair, North Canaan Democratic Town Committee

Cheers forJune 14th demonstration in Salisbury

In my 65 years in Salisbury Never have I seen the need for a demonstration the size of the one I am now witnessing on the White Hart lawn protesting the desire of our president to be treated like a king.

George Washington, not to be compared with Donald Trump, resigned as leader of this new country rather than be declared a King.

Trump has crossed a red line authorizing National Guard and 700 Marines out against his own people. We are a country of immigrants and it is our diversity which has made us great. Protests today against Trump’s actions show that the American spirit is alive and strong. We will not tolerate such abuse of our Democracy.

Elyse D Harney.Age 94

Salisbury resident since 1960

NASCAR, Lime Rock concern

The problem with NASCAR at Lime Rock is NASCAR itself.

Too big, too noisy, and totally inappropriate for Salisbury.

Let ushope that the owners of Lime Rock realize this and do not repeat the event next year.

Inge Heckel

Salisbury