Statistics don't correspond

Editor:

I am writing in response to the Nov. 29 article titled "Environmentalist sue Forest Service." Bruce Walsh makes several statements that must be corrected.

It is ironic that someone who prides himself so much in being a numbers sort of guy could miss so badly on the numbers. Had he read the Fall 1994 report issued by the United States Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish Department and the UA Squirrel Monitoring team, he may have gotten the numbers right. Though Walsh makes the claim that there are 500-600 active middens on the mountain, the people responsible for determining the numbers came up with a population between 398, plus or minus 11 squirrels, and 439, plus or minus 11 squirrels. He also claims that these middens cover 10,000 acres . this is simply untrue. Had he bothered to check the Red Squirrel Recovery Plan, he would have found that the acreage is broken down as such . 475 were rated as excellent, 1,574 as good, and 9,697 were rated from fair to very poor.

Mark Twain once said,"There are three kinds of lies Ä lies, damned lies and statistics." One can do lots of funny things with numbers . huh, Dr. Walsh?

Mary Donovan

Health Science Sophomore

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