Keep Western Maryland’s scenic river wild

For years, my license plate read “YOUGH.”

This was in honor of the remarkable Youghiogheny River — a wild ride that tested me, my husband and our friends in our younger days, initially on raft and “rubber duck” then in kayak and canoe, again and again for years. Thanks to Dan Rodrick’s recent column (“Dan Rodricks: Leave the Youghiogheny, Maryland’s officially ‘wild’ river, alone,” May 24), those challenging sparkling memories pulled up a big grin.

The river’s Maryland section — in Garrett County, and called the Upper Yough — is its toughest and remotest. Steep, boulder-strewn and sinuous, the river corridor includes a 280 foot drop of whitewater over four miles. In 1968, the federal government declared the Maryland section (the river also runs through West Virginia and Pennsylvania) to be one of the nation’s five remaining “wild and scenic rivers.” The Maryland legislature adopted this designation, and undertook intensive study of the corridor’s resources, ecology and endangered species, ultimately codifying protections to conserve its “primitive qualities and characteristics.” Fifty years ago, our portion of the Youghiogheny was celebrated in a National Geographic volume called “America’s Wild and Scenic Rivers” and it has been noted ever since in similar books.

Our state’s stretch of this stunning waterway remains a national ecological treasure. It will benefit it not at all to be domesticated by a parallel tourist-driven hike and bike path. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has conscientiously sought to protect the Yough’s wild “outstanding remarkable values.” We thank DNR for that and hope it doesn’t let up now.

— Sarah Lord, Baltimore

The writer is a former president of the Baltimore City Forest Conservancy District Board.

School shootings underscore how shabbily we treat our children

My heart breaks for the children of this country. It is unconscionable that in the 21st century there can be a nationwide shortage of infant formula, schools without air conditioning, inadequate child care and, worst of all, the horror and psychological trauma of multiple shootings in schools and other public places (“A disturbing pattern in mass shootings: young male assailants,” June 2).

The mental health crises resulting from decades of this trauma, the lack of action to lessen these incidents and the access to guns for all have made it likely that a child struggling to grow up without adequate care or respect can easily acquire a weapon as needed to either settle a personal grudge or blow away an entire classroom of children.

This is our reality. That many of our politicians can ignore this availability of guns for kids while opposing Roe v. Wade poses the question: What does “pro-life” even mean?

— Jane Miller, Stoney Beach

Ivan Bates is helping Marilyn Mosby win reelection

In the primary election in 2018, three Democratic candidates ran for the office of Baltimore City State’s Attorney. Incumbent Marilyn Mosby won with 49.4% of the vote. More people voted for the other two candidates combined — Thiru Vignarajah and Ivan Bates — than Ms. Mosby. If only one of the candidates ran against Ms. Mosby, she could have lost in 2018.

This year is going to be the same. Mr. Bates and Mr. Vignarajah are going to split the anti-Mosby vote and allow Ms. Mosby to win again (“‘It’s a morale issue’: Baltimore Police, Marilyn Mosby at odds over newly public police integrity list,” May 26). According to a poll by Mr. Vignarajah’s campaign, Ms. Mosby has 35%, Mr. Vignarajah has 32% and Mr. Bates 13%. Again, in 2022, the votes against Ms. Mosby would crush her in the election with only one candidate. With two, she wins again.

Mr. Bates will most definitely lose. He must quit so that he and Mr. Vignarajah do not split the anti-Mosby vote. If he doesn’t, the question must be asked: Is he in the race to guarantee a win for Ms. Mosby? Is he a shill for her? We will see by his actions in the days ahead.

— Steven Pinson, Baltimore