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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
PO Box 180
Jefferson City, MO 65102

TINY TANKS

I just read Jill Pritchard’s informative article on ninebanded armadillos [May, Page 16]. While it didn’t make me want to seek any out, I have a newfound respect for these new Missouri residents.

Jennifer Jamison via email

I am a native of Sweet Springs, but have lived in the south for over 50 years. I still look forward to reading each issue of the Missouri Conservationist. The article on the nine-banded armadillo in the May issue was especially interesting. Armadillos played a key role in finding treatments for leprosy, now referred to as “Hansen’s disease” after the Norwegian doctor who discovered the responsible micro-organism. It is now curable thanks to armadillos and research done at the Hansen’s Disease Center in Carville, Louisiana.

William (Bill) Brown Baton Rouge, Louisiana

FOR THE LOVE OF TREES

Putting Down Roots by Madi Nolte in the April issue brought back memories. While attending pharmacy college in St. Louis in the 1980s, my friend and I were often found in the beauty of trees. Many a time, my friend Rod and I could be found on Art Hill in Forest Park amongst a special grove of large pine trees. It was always a period of peace and reduced stress, which was quite welcome within our busy class and work schedules. We certainly never understood it at the time, but those trees probably had a lot to do with us graduating as pharmacists.

Trees have never left our lives. We are both avid stream fishermen and always welcome the shade of an overhanging tree on a sunny day, cooling us as we fish. I am a hunter and have spent countless hours in a deer stand or sitting and waiting for a turkey.

I will be retiring to the family farm (established in 1843) of which trees are a large part. My yearly allotment of 100 trees from the George O. White Nursery will be planted at the farm by a group of youngsters.

Your article really made me think all the more about how much trees have been a part of my life, and always will be.

Greg “Rudi” Rudroff Farmington

MISSOURI: A GREAT PLACE TO FISH

I have received your magazine for over 40 years, and it gets better all the time. All the articles are timely and pictures are above any expectations. I did not know how good it was in Missouri until we moved to California. I fished free in Missouri the last seven years, but now I have to pay a very high fee here. I still receive the Conservationist and enjoy every issue.

David Reader Lemoore, CA

A LEARNING TOOL

I’ve enjoyed deer hunting in northern Missouri as a nonresident and have been a fan of the Missouri Conservationist for years. Since the pandemic started, I’ve been the childcare provider for my 4- and 6-year-old granddaughters, and they love the photos and stories I read to them from your magazine. When we’re done with each issue, their mother often uses the photos and stories in the online science and art classes she’s teaching. We’re making good use of each issue.

Mark Collinge Eagle, Idaho

Correction

In the June issue, we misidentified the fish pictured on Pages 17 and 18 [Suburban Salmon] as common carp. It is smallmouth buffalo.