Mississippi River should get more love — especially from its border states

Mike Valley's (Nov. 30, 1A) observation that "there wouldn't be more than two" out of 50 "kids" today who could "'clean any fish out of the river'" tells the story of conservation. A fisherperson handles fish, takes a hook out of a fish's mouth or gills if it doesn't meet the weight requirement, and returns the fish to water to swim away. A fisherperson will fish again and again in search of the fish that will make a good meal. The article’s author, Madeline Heim, caught my attention with Valley's lament, that young people aren't fishing in the numbers they used to. Is it because the waterways are impaired? Or is the equipment too costly? There's a dedication to fishing that too few have experienced, I believe. Our 38-year-old son developed a love of fishing from the age of 4. His patience, focus, excitement on the boat, returning to land after catching fish, cleaning, cooking and eating fish, is as strong now as ever.

Heim's reporting reminds readers that a "working river" is a polluted river. The Missouri School of Journalism's survey of "respondents in the 10 states that border the [Mississippi] river [of] how they felt about living in the river basin" (7A) is the kind of journalism that explores competing interests of commerce and conservation. Mike Valley may not realize he's a conservationist, but he is. Mississippi River border states should advocate for the health of the river more than they have done or are doing.

Gretchen Reeh-Robinson

Mount Vernon