Rural trend socioeconomic

Sat., March 12, 2011

The “Smaller Town, USA” article in Sunday’s (March 6) paper missed the mark. I can appreciate rural residents’ concern about declining populations and services. Yet, a third of the article focused on the Conservation Reserve Program.

The article attributed rural decline to this highly successful conservation program. Bigger socio-economic factors such as farming technology developments and cars, combined with improved roads, have had much more impact on rural towns. A 25-year-old government program is not the reason LaCrosse, Wash., hasn’t had a doctor in 45 years, or why small towns have been losing population for a century.

Chris Bieker

Outreach coordinator, USDA Farm Service Agency

Spokane

Letters policy

The Spokesman-Review invites original letters on local topics of public interest. Your letter must adhere to the following rules:

No more than 250 words
We reserve the right to reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or are written with malice.
We cannot accept more than one letter a month from the same writer.
With each letter, include your daytime phone number and street address.
The Spokesman-Review retains the nonexclusive right to archive and re-publish any material submitted for publication.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space to publish all letters received, nor are we able to acknowledge their receipt. (Learn more.)

Submit letters using any of the following:

Our online form: Submit your letter here
Mail: Letters to the Editor
The Spokesman-Review
999 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Email: editor@spokesman.com
Fax: (509) 459-3815
Phone: (509) 459-5430