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Letters to the Editor

Submissions reflect readers’ opinions and may be edited for length and clarity. Email Magazine@mdc.mo.gov or write to us:

Missouri Conservationist
P.O. Box 180
Jefferson City, MO 65102

Stem and Nature

Thank you for Nature Lab and Wild Guide, which show the STEM aspect of technology intersecting with biological sciences. Great opportunities to show innovation in other disciplines. Keep up the good work.

Cammy Neth, Liberty

In Awe

I’ve always been extremely impressed with Noppadol’s skill with a camera. I was floored by the photo on the back cover [May 2018]. His work always leaves me in awe, but this photo really got me.

Craig Thomas O’Fallon

Turtles and Hellbenders

Thank you for the May 2018 issue of Missouri Conservationist. I loved your article on protecting turtles [Protecting Missouri Turtles, Page 10]. I have a three-toed box turtle. Her name is Tuttle. I got her while working on the Reptile and Amphibian Merit Badge for Boy Scouts. I like to hunt, fish, and mostly do things outdoors and love living in Missouri because of the beauty of our forests.

Jacob Peterson Springfield

The very day I received and read the May issue with its wonderful article about protecting Missouri’s turtles, I saw a turtle that had been run over while crossing the asphalt. In my life, I have pulled over and assisted many a turtle, large and small, across some road. Kudos to the article writer for pointing out that you should always place a road-crossing turtle on the side it was headed, otherwise it might turn around and try again, thereby doubling its likelihood of being run over. Why did the turtle cross the road? To get to the other side, of course.

John Smelcer, Ph.D. Kirksville

Thank you for the wonderful article and action taken by MDC to close commercial harvesting of Missouri’s turtles. As an enthusiastic lover of Missouri reptiles, I’m so thankful that the state recognizes their ecological significance and is working hard to ensure that future generations will experience the unbridled joy of happening upon a box turtle in the backyard or a softshell turtle while floating our lovely Ozark streams. This is the best news!

Jennifer Conner Pierce City

Great info on hellbenders [Nature Lab] and turtles in the May issue. Many years ago, on a fishing trip on Bull Shoals Lake, I caught two of them on fish bait. Surprised is an understatement. They apparently don’t necessarily need a river or creek to survive. And folks — please just leave the turtles be. Let them just continue doing their jobs as nature designed.

Rich Murray St. Louis County

Eating Close to Home

While we always strive to tell the best conservation stories, there are times when a key message gets inadvertently overshadowed in the process. In the article Eating Close to Home in the May issue, the focus was on the interest of locally grown food and how it fills a niche in agriculture. While this is an important and growing area, we recognize it is only part of the story of modern agriculture in Missouri. We want to assure our readers that we support agriculture with all its diversity and recognize its importance to the Missouri economy. —the editors

Correction

The location of May’s cover animal, the common snapping turtle, was misidentified on Page 1 of the magazine. The turtle was photographed at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. We apologize for the error. —the editors

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