Keep politicians out of conservation

To the Editor:

Reading the newspaper during the past few months has encouraged me to write in reference to our political movements.

Not only have our politicians been voting to put the bill of the road and bridge repairs on the backs of the people of Missouri by a sales tax instead of taxing the people that use the roads especially with heavy loads and equipment, but also have voted to give a good tax break to big business and private business thus placing another burden on the backs of people of the state, the people they swore to protect and listen to.

Now the politicians are attempting to destroy the one organization in the state of Missouri, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the one organization that protects the wildlife, fish and forests to the point that there will be plenty of game and fish that can be harvested during the hunting and fishing seasons. Our conservation department needs to be able to continue to have control over the deer population as well as other wildlife and fish. If these politicians get their hands on these controls, it would be the biggest disaster that our state has ever seen.

Myself and my wife, Eileen Melton, a recognized and respected internationally known wildlife and nature artist, worked with the Missouri Department of Conservation by our support and exhibiting her works at conservation conferences in the state of Missouri and with other states for about 24 years.

If these politicians, Doug Libla, Kent Hampton, Todd Richardson and Steve Cookson, along with others from around the state get their way, all the people in our state will lose the ability to admire and/or hunt. We need to keep our Missouri Department of Conservation in control of everything they have now and to keep the politicians out of the business of conservation.

Elections will be coming up soon and I hope and pray that the people of Southeast Missouri, as well as the rest of Missouri see these politicians as they are and replace them with someone that does the will of the people.

Tom Melton

Doniphan