Letters

Fast Cats

Mountain Lions in Missouri [March] is a great example of why the Conservationist wins awards for excellence. I was very impressed that the article referenced a Feb. 16 trail camera photo in a magazine that arrived in my mail on March 2. To confirm that report and get it published so quickly is amazing. I congratulate you for being such a nimble publication.

Dan Drees, Eminence

A Pest By Any Name

Throughout the excellent article Stop the Spread! [March], concerning the invasion of ornamental pear trees, the author repeatedly uses the word “callery.” That sent me to my Webster, and I determined that there isn’t any such word. So, my question is: Is the writer calling “callery” pears something like “volunteers” or what?

Gene Williams, Gladstone

Editors’ note: Callery pear and Bradford pear are both common names for Pyrus calleryana. By printing Callery in lowercase, we may have unintentionally made the word seem like an adjective, rather than a name. We regret any confusion.

Who’s A Pretty Bird?

Wow! The full-page robin photo from the March issue [Just a Robin] deserves a funny caption and should be “poster-ized”! What a great shot! The continuing excellence of your staff photographers’ work makes me believe that MDC should issue high-quality posters for sale. Captioned or not, they would be scooped up quite vigorously. Keep up the fine work.

Barbara Anderson, St. Louis

I have always felt that the Conservationist has world-class photos for its readers to enjoy, but when I got my first glimpse of February’s cover photo of the trumpeter swan, it took my breath away. The photo next to the story was every bit as awe-inspiring as the cover shot. “The magic light of sunrise,” as he puts it, makes them both incredible. Great job, Danny Brown!

Linda Whitener, Glenallen

Balancing Act

Thomas Draper’s “Note to Our Readers” [February] was an outstanding rendition of the inclusive and comprehensive approach that our Conservation Commission follows in serving our state. It serves as a reminder to all of us that we must ensure not only a deep understanding of the needs that exist in caring for our precious natural resources but in also connecting them to the significant benefits that they bring to our well-being as a collective humanity. That connection is characterized by the following thoughts of St. Augustine: “Men go forth to wonder at the heights of mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the broad flow of the rivers, the vast compass of the ocean, the courses of the stars: and they pass by themselves without wondering.”

Yes, the wonderment is in all of these creations including ourselves and the challenge is in that balancing of needs and securing of the resources to allow the greatest of options to be pursued.

As you know, we struggle with these same issues in Parks and Recreation every day. We appreciate and value the incredible work that has been done by the Commission in the past and look forward to the many successes you will experience in the future. Please let us know how we can better support your efforts and thank you for all that you have done to support ours. We are in this together.

J. Thomas Lovell, Jr. CPRP Administrator, Lee’s Summit Parks & Recreation