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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

Snake Trek

Fabulous and informative Snake Trek article and photography by Dan Zarlenga [June, Page 22]. I enjoy your wonderful magazine each month. It is always superlative reading.

Judy Kohm, via email

I thoroughly enjoyed your article on copperheads. When I was a young Girl Scout camp counselor at Camp Cedarledge in Pevely, the nature specialist had a live copperhead to show all the campers. She released it into the woods once camp came to an end for the summer. Such a great experience!

Sue DiPiano, New Melle

I have read your magazine for almost six years, since our move from Iowa to Missouri. Snake Trek made me look at snakes in an entirely new way. As a Trekker since age 16, I have loved each and every rendition of Star Trek, as well as all the movies. It touched my soul as you intertwined Trek vernacular and also used the Trek font for each section. “Live long and prosper.”

Marcy Wenberg, Kirksville

Insects in Need

I am in my late 60s and have my own unscientific way of determining that the insect population has drastically declined [Insects in Need, May, Page 22]. From the time I was a child until somewhere around my early 30s, whenever we gassed up our cars, we also had to clean insects off our car windshields to see the road. That no longer happens, even on long road trips. So, either the insects have gotten smart enough to avoid cars or we have a lot less bugs.

Mary Ann B. Ford, Kirkwood

Always Leave Nature Better

I’ve been watching this great blue heron that hangs around Drake Harbor in Warsaw. Obviously, an angler failed to clean up his or her mess. It makes me sick to watch this poor thing try to swallow fish it catches. They bounce off the fishing line and fall back into the water. I have seen it swallow things it gets through the end of its beak, but they are very small morsels from fish remains left behind by anglers.

Maureen McNeil, via email

Please leave nature better than how you find it. Leave all areas you visit with anything you bring in, including discarded fishing line. This is just one example of the dangers that await wildlife at the hands of careless humans. —The Editors

Making Connections

I teach English online to students in China. Every so often, I send one of my students a batch of Conservationist and Xplor magazines. I recently started an insect unit with my student. We were beginning to talk about the life cycle of butterflies. She very excitedly whipped out her July 2020 edition of the Conservationist [From Big-Eyed to Beautiful, Page 10]. She was so excited to be able to make a connection with me. Thank you for the wonderful articles and pictures.

Miranda Kurbin, Kansas City