Oh, dear, is Lee Elci about to lose his conservative credentials? He's bothered by progress. Isn't unrestricted, unregulated growth the be all and end all of conservatism? “Progress rattled my walls and my dog,” (Aug. 1).

I'm sorry Mr. Elci's little corner of paradise has been disrupted, that he no longer sees the wildlife he was accustomed to enjoying. Speaking of the coyotes, he states, "Their habitat was eliminated without a second thought. Another price of progress." Might one hope that his vision comes to extend beyond his own backyard? To the destruction of wildlife habitat worldwide, in the name of progress? Maybe, even to the extent that he'd consider that the Green New Dealers might have a point?

Conservation and conservatism are built on the same root. The difference is in what we deem worthy of conserving. 

Kathryn Spindler

Groton