Ozark Waters

Dreams for the Ozarks
John Moore

On two occasions I have lived and worked out of the United States and have also travelled abroad many times. It has always been a good feeling to return to the United States and when clearing customs have the agent stamp my passport and say "welcome home." Although I've lived in several parts of our country during my lifetime, the Ozarks has always been home where my roots run deep in the rocky soil of this region.

My grandparents lived in Monett, which I still consider our family home, although most of my family is now gone. I remember my grandmother saying frequently, paraphrasing the former tagline from the Springfield newspaper, how much she loved living right here in the Ozarks. That newspaper, now owned by a publishing corporation far from here, has dropped its longtime note near the masthead, "Tis a privilege to live in the Ozarks." Its roots are no longer anchored here.

It is always good to come home and no matter the attractive qualities of other places, the Ozarks is the place I want to be. I love the four season climate, gripe though I might when it's too hot or too cold for too long. I love the variegated terrain, the hills, the valleys and plateaus, the rocks and rills as well as the people, particularly my longtime friends here. I especially have loved the rivers and streams and lakes, the wonderful water resources that distinguish and define the region. My love has extended to the opportunities to fish these streams and lakes, avocations I look forward to enjoying even more in my forthcoming retirement. These passions for the Ozark outdoors have inspired my commitment to the work of our Foundation in conserving the quality of the lakes and streams.

As a lifelong hunter and fisherman, my best dream for the Ozarks is not simply about more fish and game in future years. Although I hope to find both abundantly in clean waters, and I fervently hope my little grandson will be able to enjoy these pastimes as I have, this is certainly not the real substance of my dream.

The dream, rather, extends to the awareness and value every citizen has for our natural resources, the fish and game, the fields and forests, the lakes and streams, with which the Ozarks has been blessed. When something is valued, it is cared for, protected and sustained. If we prize these natural resources and care for them appropriately, they will be there abundantly for future generations.

Leadership to promote and inculcate this value will come from many places, not the least of which should be the work of the Ozarks Water Watch Foundation, allied watershed organizations and conservation and natural resource agencies. It needs to come from political leadership which has a vision for the aesthetic as well as economic value of our streams and forests and other natural resources. And leadership can come from all those who invent and sustain the popular culture where continuing emphasis on a strong environmental ethic is found.

That's my dream for the Ozarks. It's my hope to see its continuing fulfillment during my lifetime. Will you dream this dream too?