Most travelers have noted the increase in these towers. They are, in fact, generally located on the highest prominences around. Most would think they detract from the natural beauty of the view. This is particularly true in those now rarer areas where natural beauty characterizes the landscape – and in those special places where it is supposed as in our National Forests and State Parks.

The numbers of wireless towers in the U.S. rose from 40,000 in 1997 to 100,000 in 2001. Projections call for twice this many, before a satellite or other technology replaces them. Then we must pay to have these rusty eye-sores removed.

There are, however, 119 million wireless phone users that must be served. There are 30,000 new customers each day. In response in 1996 the federal Telecommunications Act gave the industry virtually unchallengeable access and use of these prominences. Each tower is, it seems, located in the middle-of-nowhere – those wonderful nowheres. The hiker expects natural values to increase as one approaches the top. There the tower, its clearing and access road are encountered. Surely the view from the top may still be there, but more and more other towers mar the view.

The penetration of the access road into these steep "islands" of remoteness pose special ecological problems of disturbance and fragmentation. Road steepness can cause erosion and sediment generation to streams below. Again, can these roads be put in erosion-proof condition when no longer needed and maintained – if so, who does it? Of course there are all kinds of such environmental impacts. The greatest perhaps is the 4 to 40 million birds killed each year throughout the US by collisions into these towers.

Shorter towers that do not require a strobe light, a less noticeable single slender pole – are some of the mitigations possible. These are somewhat better than crowning our grandest mountaintops with intruding towers. We can take some comfort in that these monstrocities should pass.