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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

April Cover

Kudos to Noppadol Paothong for the image on the cover of the April issue. Love how the camera settings and lenses used are provided with the photos [Page 1].

James M. Cobb, St. Peters

Ready to Read

I have a 5-year-old great-grandson who loves your magazine. He asks his dad every day if it is time for it to come. He keeps it with him all the time, even when he goes to bed, and brings it to his 84-year-old great-granny to read to him.

Cash Crump, New Bloomfield

Save the Trees

I have read your magazine for many years and enjoy it very much. I especially enjoyed the March issue about trees [The Mighty Ones, Page 10]. I, like Sara Parker Pauley, love the poem Trees by Joyce Kilmer and memorized it years ago [Up Front, Page 3]. Please help us conserve our old trees. Thank you for all you do.

Tree Lover, Gentry

Generational Gift

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your monthly magazine. My grandmother Cora signed us up for your magazine when I was about 13 years old. You sure have come a long, long way. I am now 78 and get the pleasure of signing up my three wonderful grandchildren. Thanks for bringing great knowledge and pleasure to all of us.

Norman Hug, O’Fallon

Is it Invasive or Native?

I really enjoy your magazine! In your April 2021 issue, you wrote about the invasive Callery pear [Missouri’s Least Wanted, Page 8]. In trying to be a good steward of my woods, I wanted to remove this invasive. When the tiny white flowers appeared in late March, I cut down several trees and marked several others for removal. After having second thoughts, I did some research and found that the native wild plum is very similar. I may have cut some wild plum by mistake. They are so similar that I’m still not sure how to tell them apart. Note to self: Research and be sure before you cut. A chainsaw is not a reversable tool.

Jeff Goris, Licking

We are glad you are taking action to manage and control invasive pears. The invasive Callery pear has white petals that are rounded and close together; its flower stamens are not longer than the petals; and the flowers are unpleasant smelling. Also, look at the overall growth shape of the tree. If it’s more oval or cylindrical with a “typical” symmetrical shape, then it’s likely an invasive pear. Our native trees are less uniform in shape, or “nontypical,” and tend to have odd branching patterns that make them nonsymmetrical. To help compare the two, visit short.mdc.mo.gov/ZKY.

—The editors

Paper

I’ve loved the Conservationist magazine for years. Has there ever been a conversation about printing on recycled paper versus glossy?

Joe Mosley, New Bloomfield

The paper we use for printing the Missouri Conservationist is 30 percent post-consumer content, and the ink is soybean-based. There is a little symbol on the bottom of Page 3 to indicate this. The magazine has been printed on some percentage of post-consumer paper since the 1980s. It is probably important to note, just because it’s glossy doesn’t mean it’s not recyclable.

—The editors

Conservation Headquarters

573-751-4115

PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO

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