On the cover
Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks on Monopoly Marsh
By Chris Barrigar of Bloomfield, the Best of Show winner in 2010's Friends of Mingo Swamp Flora & Fauna Photography Contest. The alternate Best of Show shot and a list of all winners is inside the issue.

Page 1 stories:
St. Francis satisfaction — Bill Janis
A float from Silvermines to the E Highway bridge in Madison County was just right for this foursome, including a first-time kayaker. You'll wish you'd been along when you learn what they saw on the river bank.

South Missouri sting nets whopping harvest
A two-year undercover investigation led by the Missouri Department of Conservation, which culminated in late July, resulted in the 425 citations for wildlife violations, three arrests and seizure of 240 items including deer mounts, small game and fish mounts, frog legs and a rattlesnake. A storefront taxidermy shop in Birch Tree was part of the sting.

Death stills an Ozarks voice
Mitch Jayne, humorist, musician, author and storyteller, died at 82 in Columbia. He left a legacy in print and the entertainment world and will be missed by all who love the Ozarks.

The rest of the paper
It's fall festival time in the Ozarks
Almost every community in the Ozarks has a fall festival of some kind. Traveler's calendar is the most extensive guide to festivals, frolics, fetes and fairs that we know of. Pick out several and go have fun.

Traveler Editorial — Industry should pay for Superfund
When Congress reconvenes this fall, it should reauthorize taxes on oil, chemical and other companies to pay for clean up oforphaned Superfund sites. Since the tax expired in 1995, environmental clean ups have been lagging. Missouri has plenty ofthose sites and would benefit.

Makin Tracks: It was a long, hot summer but how did it go so quickly — Emery Styron
Traveler editor Styron admits that August may have fried his brain, but he's happy to report our September issue is overflowing with great stories.

Editor's Mailbag: Riverways Access now greater than if land had stayed private
Al Agnew opines that some folks battling road closures in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways are not seeing the big picture. He offers a perspective you may not have considered. Kurt Kirchmer says restrictions don't detract from his fishing fun.

MDC plans appeal of deer-dogging ruling in Ripley County case
A circuit judge in Doniphan ruled the regulations prohibiting running deer with dogs and motorized vehicles were too vague to be enforceable. The Missouri Conservation Department plans to appeal.

Conservation Commission approves 2010-2011 waterfowl seasons
The Commission set waterfowl seasons at its August meeting. There are too many details to put in one sentence. You'll just have to read the whole story.

Riverways: Love it. Protect it — Bill Cooper
Avoiding arguments over how the Ozark National Scenic Riverways is managed by the National Park Service, Bill shares adventures, exciting times and consolations the ONSR has brought him over the years.

Todd, Kipp release big ones, make lunch out of small fish — Bob Todd
Bob recalls a 2009 fishing trip on the Current with Dale Kipp and expounds again his theory that minimum length limits produce more small fish instead of more big fish, as their proponents contend.

Cedar Hills bait shop has stood test of time — Howard Helgenberg
Howard profiles Richard Ford and Ford's Bait & Tackle, a Big River institution for nearly 50 years and a place you probably can't find without going to Cedar Hill and asking a local.

Eminence to get boat ramp — MDC news release
At its August meeting, the Missouri Conservation Commission approved a $353,846 contract with a Perryville firm for construction of a boat ramp on the Jacks Fork River at Eminence City Park, among other items of business.

Combine common, simple .22, squirrel to elevate hunting — Ron Kruger
Though both .22s and squirrel-hunting are common and rather simple, when you put the two together the result is something special, like peanut butter with chocolate.

Rock Talk: Geology played key role in Battle of Pilot Knob —Jo Schaper
Without iron in Arcadia Valley, there would have been no railroad. With no railroad, probably no fort. Since there was a railroad and a fort, General Sterling Price utilized those famous peaks to mount an assault

Nature's Corner: State's official reptile faces challenges from predators, humans — Aaron Horrell
The three-toed box turtle, despite its official standing, is cut no slack by its two-legged and four-legged enemies.

The Seasons: If it sounds like September fireworks, dover hunters may be near — Bob Todd
Mourning dove season opens Sept. 15 and it can take a whole lot of shooting to bag a limit of 15.

The Iron Kettle: Summer dishes work well through September — Pat Todd
Temperatures will no doubt let up in September, but there'll be hot days. Here are recipes to help you through.

Paranoid seizure in a tranquil garden — Jim and Donna Featherston
Old Buck loses all perspective when critters starting chewing on his prize yams.

Our Indian Heritage: Ducks on pond means food on table, but not all taste good — Donna Featherston
Some ducks taste better than others. Donna's family learned that the hard way. Indians probably knew it all along.

Through the Years in Traveler: How do you cook aa timber rattler?
Murel Keiser of Imperial wrote in to report a 50-inch timber rattler in the freezer and asked for a recipe.

Maps in this issue: Clearwater Lake • Lower Current & Eleven Point Rivers • Lower Meramec River • Parkland/Arcadia Valley/Black River • Upper Current & Jacks Fork Rivers • Upper Meramec River, Huzzah & Courtois Creeks • Wappapello Lake