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turn to their former conditions. It could take much longer or never in the high elevations of the Rockies with their very short growing seasons. This means generations of mankind will come and go while the forests try to heal themselves; however, environmental destruction by man tends to be an irreversible process. Jack M. Callaway, 1567 North 13th St., Laramie, Wyo. Postmaster: If undeliverable, send Form 3579 to The Texas Observer, 600 W. 7th, Austin, Tex. 78701 Sakowitz on Monthly The reason I write to you is by inference, as the Texas Monthly article in the July 16 edition of The Texas Observer carried a byline of the initials “KN.” This particular issue made a most interesting statement, and I felt the need to clarify a phrase that you used on page 7 regarding our company. Mr. Levy states that he “told [his] staff we had never cratered before. In fact, I have only gotten one call from a major advertiserSakowitz.” The implication was that Sakowitz was endeavoring to force editorial policy by that phone call, for it follows a comment on the preceding page where Mr. Levy speaks of how he had run Paul Burka’s piece on Coastal States “despite the fact that it cost the magazine between 12 and 18 pages a year fro _m Sakowitz.” The reason for our withdrawal from Texas Monthly was in no way a form of threat regarding the editorial policy of the magazine, for Sakowitz had been the first major specialty store to support Texas Monthly for its editorial content with a full page monthly commitment. Nor was there any request for any action on the part of the magazine by us. In fact, nothing regarding Coastal States was ever construed as a threat but purely a statement of action by myself to Mr. Broyles. Given the fact that ours is a family business, I felt it more prudent to withdraw our advertising for the time being. It was not something Mr. Broyles or I discussed, or even questioned, but merely a statement of fact, and Mr. Levy’s point falsely implies that Sakowitz was endeavoring to control editorial policy. Just to clear the record for the information of your readers, such was not the case. I greatly appreciate your reviewing this information. Robert T. Sakowitz’, president, 1111 Main St., Houston, Tex. Defending clearcut Don Gardner’s tirade against clearcutting resentations and half truths that I am compelled to write this letter in hopes of shedding some light of truth on clearcutting. I have been hunting and fishing in East Texas 16 The Texas Observer I Dialogue I for many years, and I have yet to see wildlife adversely affected by clearcutting and replanting, with the exception of some temporary squirrel displacements. It seems that people like Mr. Gardner who don’t understand forestry always use photographs showing the ground immediately after it has been cleared. Naturally, that’s when things look worseand however misleading the photograph may be, it serves to support their opinion. What they don’t show is what a clearcut looks like a few weeks later when the nutrient rich vegetation, seed plants, and browse materialall important to the wildlife food chainbegin to sprout in the area. As an outdoors sports’ writer, I have found in research and talking with East Texans and wildlife officials that before clearcutting began in East Texas, quail and dove hunting were almost nonexistent. Today, because of the availability of seed plants and other habitat advantages in clearcuts, bird hunting is on the increase. Deer, rabbit, and other wildlife have also benefited from the increased availability of food plants that are not available in the dense, deep forest where sunlight cannot reach the forest floor. Glen Dodson, P.O. Box 520, Cleveland, Tex. Cutting ‘destructive’ I hope the July 16 Observer story on clearcutting has made its readers aware of the harm caused by clearcutting. Beyond all question, clearcutting is one of the systems most destructive of ecological values. Here in the Rocky Mountains, it has been responsible for desolated mountainsides, debris-choked and muddy streams, lost wildlife habitat, and inadequate second growth. Of course the silver-tongued spokesmen for the timber industry in defense of their greed have well prepared rebuttals for each of these charges, but their arguments are not convincing. We are told it will take 200 or more years for our clearcut areas to re Victory for environment I do not know what part your journal played in the decision last month by Judge Court, Eastern District of Texas, but a week after your July 16 issue, with Don Gardner’s front page article on clearcutting, he preliminarily enjoined the U.S. Forest Service from any further clearcutting and hardwood killing in all four national forests of Texas. . . . Knowing of the subtle influence that your publication has on legislators, I see no reason not to credit you in large part for this victory for conservationists, or those who are sympathizers with traditional forestry curse this raid on the national forests by the tree farmers. Christopher Farmer, Sierra Club, 530 Bush St., San Francisco, Calif. Observer’s ‘bias’ The “journal of free voices” chokes on its ris County grand jury indictment of Judge Garth Bates, by assuming homosexuality per se is a disqualification to service on the bench, along with gambling and accepting bribes. The matter of sexual preference is a personal right having nothing to do with judicial qualification, and the sooner this area of civil liberties is properly reported, the sooner it will be dealt with by society at large. The Texas Observer should take the lead in promoting the notion that as people, we must have the opportunity to live exactly as we wish, as long as we don’t harm anyone else in the process; then the journal of free voices will truly reflect its meaning to those of us who enjoy its content. Arthur Veltman, Jr., 403 East Commerce St., San Antonio, Tex. The Observer did not mean to imply that homosexuality had anything to do with judi cial qualifications. We simply repeated rumors afloat concerning Houston judges. For readers who did not read the original item, it should be noted that Judge Bates has been charged with accepting a bribe. Another judge is said to be a homosexual. -Ed.