The government's prohibition against photographing flag-draped coffins of the Iraq War dead bothers me greatly, both as a journalist and as a veteran.

Beyond being blatant government censorship for political reasons, the prohibition is itself naked pro-war propaganda, regardless of how the Pentagon or the present administration wants to clothe it. The only reason for the censorship is to prevent such images from generating emotional responses that may lead us to question the cost of this war. Anti-war sentiments be damned; men and women who die in service to their country deserve more honor and recognition than to have their sacrifices hidden away in fear they might cause Americans to ask politicians if this war is worth it.

So, we're pleased  and grateful to have the exceptional good fortune to present to you our cover photo. Navy Chaplain Sheri Snively captured the image in Iraq at a euphamistically named Personnel Retrieval and Processing Unit – formally known as a Mortuary Unit. The Marine in the photo is ironing an American flag in preparation for draping it over, not a coffin, but a transfer case – a reusable aluminum shipping container that will temporarily hold the remains of a Marine killed in action. Chaplain Snively also penned the accompanying essay in this issue.

Here is the kind of image our government doesn't want you to see. When you view this image, whether or not you believe that whatever we're after in Iraq is worth the lives of our servicemen and women, I hope you respect their sacrifices and have some empathy for their loved ones who live on without them. I hope you think, not of the political questions, but of the people who gave all and who continue to give all in spite of the political questions.

They've earned honor, and they deserve respect – and the light of day.

Candace McNulty widens her focus a bit this month to talk about the broader scenario of continued unrestrained growth on strained water resources here. Perhaps most interesting – and understated – is her mention that Yavapai County COULD obtain the power to tell developers, “No, you can't build a subdivision in that spot  because there isn't enough water to sustain your development.” Unfortunately, Yavapai County Supervisor Carol Springer is opposed to such a sensibility, so the county is impotent as long as she's in office. Bizarre. Also watch for the interesting comment by the Prescott city manager, who says that continued residential growth is costing the city far more than it's getting in return.

US Representative Rick Renzi (R-AZ) has been in the news lately regarding an alleged scandal, but well before that we commissioned the story about his performance on environmental issues. He gets extremely poor grades on the big issues that involve big business vs the environment, but some environmental groups give him an A+ for his work at the local level. What's up with that? And no, the alfalfa field mentioned in this article has no connection to Rick's present troubles.

Nearly 20 volunteers showed at the upper Verde River to help AZG&F with tamarisk removal May 12. While most of them represented Prescott Flycasters and Save the Verde conservation groups, several volunteers were Read It Here readers who saw the articles in our pages and stepped up to the plate.

It wasn't simply cutting down trees with chainsaws – it was a lot of hard, dirty work. The tamarisks don't stand on thick single trunks; rather, they're more like giant shrubs and it took a lot of clipping and hacking just to reach a point where the chainsaws could get at 'em. Almost all of them had been knocked over in the flood of 2004-2005 and held on to a remarkable amount of detritus even as they sent new shoots and trunks up from their horizontal positions.

I got most everyone's name, and I apologize to those I miss listing here. These are your neighbors who really put their backs into conservation: Eric Alexander, Gregory Hunt, Perry Breitenstein, Abbott Lawrence (also a new subscriber), Gary Fukayama, George Seaman, Susan McElheran, Murray Rubin, Floyd Dugan, Ashley and Sedona Fine, Gray Bower (who first noticed the invasive tamarisk and suggested the project), Garth Ezell, Kitty Miller and Casey & Shannon -  the latter of whom was celebrating her 23^rd birthday by participating in this conservation project.

If you wanted to make it but couldn't, don't despair: a few tamarisks escaped the ax, and we're tentatively scheduling an encore when the weather cools off in October. We hope to see you there!

-Art Merrill