It’s my river
Like that relative that makes everyone think they’re the favorite, the river has something for everyone.
It sent chills up my spine on that hot day, as I stretched my bare feet until they reached the rocky river floor in the middle of the Missouri Ozarks. The summer sun was nearly more than I could bear and the chill of the spring-fed river water offered sweet relief. I stood there, watching minnows dart away, thinking I’d invaded their space.
The river is home to turtles, fish, snakes and other creatures, who make way for those like me that claim a space without notice. Everything that uses the river, people and wildlife, have specific needs, and the river meets them.
Snapping turtles, River cooters, Red-eared sliders and Eastern spiney softshell turtles, need aquatic plants and water bugs to survive and the river provides these in abundance. Turtles also give back to the river, by scavenging and eating dead animals, which helps to keep the river clean.
Though the river provides a place for fish to live, fish also play a role in keeping the river in balance by eating small river bugs and smaller fish. Bottom feeding fish, like suckers, act as filters for the river water as they pick up debris along the riverbed.
Water snakes are a valuable resident of the river as well. You may see them sunning along branches above the current, as if the world is of no matter to them. However, many of Missouri’s water snakes will feast on the slower fish in the water. This means they help the overall health of the fish population, so even the snake gives back to the river.
Like cousins who squeeze in an extra seat at the dinner table, these river residents move aside so the river can be mine, too, if only for a few moments of sweet relief. As I consider the role they each play in the health of the river, I wonder what role I have.
There’s a choice we each make at a dinner table. We can use our manners, or not. We can throw our elbows out and make our own space, or we can be that cousin who sits on the piano bench to make extra room for another.
In the cold water, my feet rejoiced. Their host had been more than welcoming. I stepped onto the bank, dried off and looked around; scanning for any trash that might need to be removed. It was the least I could do for my host. After all, it is my river.
What river have you claimed lately? The Missouri Department of Conservation invites you to post your favorite river photos to social media using #ItsMyRiver.
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