Up Front

It’s hard not to notice that days are growing shorter and morning sunrises are accompanied by fog formed on the lakes and rivers as my favorite season slowly approaches. The opening of dove season on September 1 signals the unofficial start to fall and the many hunting opportunities that Missouri offers. For me, September includes the final preparations for a long hunting season, a time of optimism, daydreaming, and quiet time in the outdoors, soaking in all the benefits that nature provides. It’s also a time to reconnect with old friends and establish relationships with new ones by sharing time at deer camp, a cool foggy morning in the duck marsh, or an evening around a campfire.

Fall also represents a time of significant changes in nature — the final sightings of ruby-throated hummingbirds at the feeder or final migration of monarch butterflies. Fall highlights the amazing feats of wildlife that make Missouri home for at least some portion of the year. Or the appearance of the lesser yellowlegs on their migration from the arctic to Argentina.

It’s also a time we benefit from nature in so many ways, whether it’s enjoying its beauty, consuming the wild harvest of nuts and fruits, or obtaining high-quality protein from harvested fish and wildlife. We face many conservation challenges, but fall is a time to appreciate how much we benefit from healthy habitats and populations of fish and wildlife.

Jason Sumners, Director

JASON.SUMNERS@MDC.MO.GOV