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This is a response to Richard Williams’ Jan. 17 letter, “Public lands don’t belong to a single group.”

At the beginning of his letter, Williams invites us to imagine a world in which we drive to the end of a Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management road and see a sign that reads, “Open only to people with companion animals. Any others will be subject to arrest for trespass.” He goes on to say that snowmobilers, four-wheelers, hound-hunters, archers and stockmen should beware, because this is exactly what groups that “look and act” like Footloose Montana are striving for. And by the way, after they get us off of public land, they will want the private land too, because they believe “they own it all.”

For as long as I can remember, I have gravitated toward woods, wilderness, water and wildlife. My memories of youth are the smell of mud, fresh snow on towering Douglas firs, nettle stew, raccoon tracks and little trout in little streams. Interestingly, as I age, my solitary outdoor life has become an integral part of my social and economic life. I find that more and more, the people I gravitate toward are those who share a similar love for what is wild. The jobs I love are the ones that put me outside, next to other people whose Carhartts, cuss-words, dirty fingernails and missing teeth might be a little out of place amidst the bustle of Reserve Street.

Some of the people I love working, fishing, hunting or talking with are trappers. Some are ranchers. Some pack mules and others ride ATVs. Some look and act like rednecks and some look and act like yuppies. Some chew Copenhagen and others eat organic. Some hunt coyotes and cougars. Some are people like those affiliated with Footloose Montana n a sane, smart and compassionate group of people, without cloven hooves or horns. And yet, fancy that, there everyone is, occupying the same space, worshipping in their distinct way the exact same thing: woods, wilderness, water and wildlife.

Here is the difference that sets Richard Williams and his fellow trappers apart from the rest of us: landmines.

When you set a landmine, you don’t know who it is going to kill or injure. It could be an eagle, a mink, a wolf, your dog, your neighbor’s dog, your neighbor, a Jew, a Palestinian, a Serb, a Croat.

So no, Williams, people who “look and act” like Footloose Montana aren’t going after everyone. The rest of us prefer to do our killing discriminately, or not at all. They are going after you, and the rest of the irresponsible trapping community, for setting landmines in and around the woods, wilderness, water and wildlife that we love, that belongs to all of us. You may continue to plunder the natural wealth of your own land as you wish.

Conor Black writes from Missoula.

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