Borrego Sun - Since 1949

Dear Borrego Sun,

Thanks for the editorial “What are they afraid of?”

I couldn’t help but wonder why the environmental scientist is worried about an “artificial population of sheep”. I thought about the incredible success story of the California Condors. Does he think the Cooperative California Condor Conservation Program isn’t a good use of science? If you capture the last condor in the wild and release them later, does that make the entire population artificial? If the numbers in a population become too low, it’s hard to maintain genetic diversity. Why wouldn’t you want to maintain the genetic diversity of the Peninsular Bighorn sheep? I thought all scientists knew of the importance of genetic diversity to maintain healthy populations. His comments are puzzling.

Gary Funk

– El Cajon & Borrego Springs, California