Daniel Rivard: Boulder airport: Speak up on airport noise over Boulder
You have the right and the power to speak up about airport traffic noise over Boulder.
The majority of the noise comes from the glider tow planes as they continually fly over our air space. The airport manager is aware of the problem and is trying to work with the glider people.
However, glider tow planes continue to not follow proper protocol when dumping the glider and returning to the airport. They are supposed to fly far east of Airport Road and power down their engines to contain the noise levels that people have been complaining about.
Apparently the airport has been getting many noise complaints about the glider tow planes. You can call 303-441-4000 or email to bma@bouldercolorado.gov. The airport manager can be reached at 303-441-3108. You can also call Dylan at 303-489-8874. He has been helpful to contact the glider units and pass along noise complaints.
The quiet space in the skies over Boulder and surrounding communities, including Vista Village Mobile Home Park, is sacred and special to our once-peaceful community.
You have the ability to speak out and make a difference. Many voices will help to raise awareness of this ongoing issue and serve to keep airport traffic following noise guidelines and make our community a safer place to live.
Daniel Rivard
Boulder
Sara Mitton: Boulder elections: Keep city voting in odd-numbered years
After I read Boulder City Councilmember Matt Benjamin’s statement in the paper (“Boulder eyes even-year elections,” May 16) about the belief that even years would be more inclusive of the residents of Boulder, I was puzzled as to why.
Yes, those are bigger ballots, but why really would that help? I thought of it in terms of a Boulder metaphor like running. Is not it more inclusive of the whole population to offer multiple smaller races in which to participate rather than just a large marathon?
We all have the responsibility of participating knowledgeably, and we need not be taking time off from our busy lives to go vote in person somewhere that might be inconvenient, as mail and drop ballots are so easily available to use.
The candidates themselves should appreciate the individual attention they will get when the public is not swamped by literature and news coverage from national and state level elections in which to learn about their positions on important local issues.
I suggest we leave the voting years as is. The original rationale for picking that time for the consideration of local issues still seems correct.
Sara Mitton
Boulder
Ron Gager: Our wren: Determined little bird inspires awe
Our wren is back and, for a few moments at least, all seems right with the world.
As I watch him (her?) diligently filling the wren house with twigs, I am struck by how important faith and perseverance is, even when so many signals tell you to give up.
The war in Ukraine, the Supreme Court, our inability to come together to fight COVID-19, and so many other current situations drain me of the resolve to fight on.
Then I watch that little guy (gal) go against all odds to fit an 8-inch stick into a half-inch hole, and I feel in awe of this commitment to the seemingly impossible task at hand.
I hope I can find similar moments when I can say, “Didn’t think it was possible, but I had to try.”
The wren gives me hope and inspiration.
Ron Gager
Boulder
Norman Bishoop: Wolf reintroduction: There are reasons for restoring animals to Colorado
Marc Bekoff’s “slippery slope” column (“The subtle, slippery slopes of wolf reintroduction,” May 18) offers humanitarian reasons why wolves should be left alone, and speaks on behalf of individual wolves.
Admirable. However, there are good reasons for restoring them to Colorado.
As a member of the Yellowstone Center for Resources team that restored wolves to Yellowstone in 1995 and who has followed the fate of the wolves translocated from Canada to Yellowstone and central Idaho, I have given much thought to those issues.
In moving wolves from Canada, we took them from registered trap lines, from which, had we not taken them — under the exquisite care of five veterinarians — they would have been subject to being trapped and pelted out.
As nearly as possible, we took complete families (packs), and they prospered in Yellowstone National Park, contributing to the health and integrity of the park, and spreading their genes through a system rich in prey.
From about 1850 to 1900, as European Americans swept westward, seeking Manifest Destiny and bringing livestock, 500 million creatures were annihilated, including more than 90% of wolves and Native Americans.
To right that wrong is one of the many reasons wolves should be restored to Colorado.
Not just for the good of wolves, but for the good of a host of creatures wolves feed when they regularly put carcasses on the ground for scavengers, but for their essential function in promoting the health of their prey, and of the forage upon which their prey depends, we must return wolves to Colorado.
Ellen E. Brandell, of Pennsylvania State University, says, “Predators may create healthier prey populations by selectively removing diseased individuals. Model results suggest that under moderate, yet realistic, predation pressure from cougars and wolves independently, predators may decrease chronic wasting disease outbreak size substantially and delay the accumulation of symptomatic deer and elk.”
Norman Bishoop
Bozeman, Montana
