Subject: [Tweeters] mixed feelings re new telescope site
Date: Apr 6 11:06:58 2008
From: Wayne Weber - contopus at telus.net
Richard,
The Mount Graham telescope complex was built despite the fact that it
destroyed some of the critical habitat for the Mount Graham red squirrel, an
endangered subspecies listed under the ESA. The telescope was also opposed
by local Native American tribes, who considered the site sacred. The
proponents of the telescope were given an exemption from the Endangered
Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forests
Management Act, and other legislation to build the telescope.
NO development is so important that it should be exempted from the ESA or
NEPA!
Even as a Canadian, I am well aware of the controversy over this project,
which has been going on since the 1980s. Richard, you should stay
better-informed on conservation issues.
Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net
-----Original Message-----
From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Richard
Carlson
Sent: April-06-08 6:13 AM
To: vogelfreund at comcast.net; tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] mixed feelings re new telescope site
The Chickadees are doing fine, as are the rest of the
birds on Mt. Graham.
So what exactly is wrong with building the greatest
telescope on the planet to maybe unravel a few
mysteries of the universe??
RCC
--- vogelfreund at comcast.net wrote:
> April 5, 2008
>
> I just saw clip on tv news about the new giant
> telescope on Mt. Graham in SE Arizona. That was an
> ideal camping and birding retreat for me when I was
> stationed at Ft. Huachuca, just to get away from
> people up on the cool peak at 10,500 feet above sea
> level (although I didn't get there very often). Now
> I see it's been turned into a global hotspot for
> astronomers and probably public amusement. It is the
> southern most point in Arizona, for example, where
> Mountain Chickadees are normally found. Just across
> the gap to the south, where the Interstate Highway
> runs, the Mexican Chickadee takes over
> (Chiricahuas).
>
> It reminds me of when I was 15 years old and moved
> down to Florida from Wisconsin. Just when I
> discovered the existence of a wild unspoiled Florida
> beach known as Cape Canaveral State Park, the
> federal government confiscated the area to build the
> (now Kennedy) Space Center, etc. Oh well...
>
> Phil Hotlen
> Bellingham, WA