Letters

Submissions reflect readers’ opinions and might be edited for length and clarity.

Opportunity for All

Thank you for the wonderful story about the deer hunts at Mark Twain Lake and Smithville [Missouri Deer Hunting: Opportunity for All; July]! My son and I have volunteered at the Mark Twain hunt since 2003. We come home every year with a whole new outlook on life. It’s the greatest thing to remind us not to take even the smallest things for granted. We look forward to seeing our “once-a-year friends.” James Dean is one of many inspirations for all of us.

Glenda Baker Phillips, Sibley

Find us Online

Have you ever considered doing an electronic edition of the Missouri Conservationist? I belong to several organizations that do their newsletters/ publications like this. It generally saves a lot of money for printing and mailing costs, and it gets the information out quicker. A monthly email notifies everyone that the latest issue is available, and it includes a link to the organization’s website for downloading the publication.

Gregory Quigley, Ellisville

Ombudsman’s Note: The Missouri Conservationist and a variety of news items are available in electronic format, free of charge, on our website at mdc.mo.gov. We have about 10,000 people who receive email notices when each month’s magazine is posted. You can read it online,

or download a PDF of the full issue. To subscribe to the online version of the Conservationist and other Department publications, visit mdc.mo.gov/node/9087 and choose the email option. Current and past issues of the magazine are available on the Conservationist’s page at mdc.mo.gov/conmag. —Tim E. Smith

Barclay Browns

I was at Barclay Conservation Area on a Sunday morning and caught over two dozen browns, a few of them over 16 inches. I’d like to think I’m a pretty skilled fisherman, but was wondering if browns had been stocked again recently, since it was my understanding that they are normally only stocked once in the fall.

I called the hatchery office the other day, and there has not been a recent stocking of browns. All I can say is wow! I fished from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and never saw a soul, bringing over 30 fish to the net — all released.

People around here don’t realize how good we have it here in Missouri. Keep up the good work, there are plenty of us who do appreciate it.

David McGowan, via Internet

Plants & Animals

We have been subscribers to the Missouri Conservationist for many years. While we no longer live in Missouri, it is one of our favorite magazines. I especially like the “Plants & Animals“ column. It is very helpful to have the photography information given. We are advanced amateur photographers but always wonder how certain photographs were shot. This column gives the specifics as well as the reason the photographer shot in that manner. I especially enjoyed all the information given in the story and photograph by Danny Brown this month.

Ethelyn Carr, via Internet

Correction

There was a mistake in the article Emmett and Leah Seat Memorial Conservation Area in the June issue.

In the first paragraph, it says that Littleton Seat settled on the featured farm in northwest Missouri in 1884. But it was really 1844.

Littleton Seat was my great-grandfather William Seat’s grandfather. Littleton was born in 1788, moved with his parents to Tennessee around 1800, and then moved to Cooper County, Missouri, in 1818. In 1844, he moved to what was still Gentry County, Missouri, where he died in 1845.

Leroy Seat, Liberty

Reader Photo

Pickle Springs

Tim Watson of Sainte Genevieve submitted this photo of Pickle Springs Natural Area. He took the photo while he and his two sons were hiking the Trail Through Time. “We were amazed at the beauty this gem, so close to us, had to offer,” said Watson. “We frequent Pickle Springs quite often and enjoy the outstanding and varied views of rock formations, creeks and streams, woods, and the unbelievable cliff top overlook seen in this picture. To have a place that allows an unobstructed view like this, so close to home, is amazing. Even though the view from the top is wonderful during the summer, it is even more spectacular in the fall.”