Take Your Napa and Shove It 

Editor:

I read "The Revolution Starts Here" (Dec. 11) with horror. What planet does California Cannabis Voice Humboldt live on? Their dream of turning Humboldt County into another Napa is chilling. Their ignorance or disregard for biological reality is inexcusable.

Much of the rest of the world has been "developed" in just the way CCVH wants to enshrine in their ordinance. Complex ecosystems have been under assault for 10,000 years. Habitat fragmentation is a serious concern. You don't have to wipe out an entire habitat to wipe out a species. Simply eliminating a favored site or necessary conditions can do that.

Small pockets of intact habitat cannot support a rich diversity of species over the long term. Large animals, especially large carnivores, need more space to roam than our largest parks provide. Without top predators, ecosystems lose precious biological diversity. The kind of agricultural landscapes found in places like Napa never support the number of species that intact forests support. The quality of the land that lies between our parks and preserves really matters. The size and number of grows in Humboldt County really matters. In Humboldt County we still have the opportunity to find a better way to live. A way that promotes biological diversity, rather than diminishing it.

Amy Gustin, Ettersburg