I used to read to Angie the History Dog, especially when a new issue of Ducks Unlimited arrived. Since Tuck is now 6 months old, I figured she would enjoy the same exercise, and I was right. Her attention span needs development, though. From my own point of view, I got two things from the reading this morning.

1. The publisher's column, "Where the Ducks Are," resonated with a short essay I have drafted for use in an edited work, Thinking About the Great Plains, a collection of think pieces that generated historic understandings about life on the plains. One of these is the underground classic by John Lynch, "Escape from Mediocrity," about wildlife management on the prairies. In my introduction, I use waterfowl management as an example of how people living outside the region have deep vested interests in matters within the region. The publisher says of DU, "up here, where the prairie looks more like an ocean and the wind is never still, is where it really counts. We were founded to conserve the prairie wetlands, and it is our highest priority to this day." I'll probably use that quote.

2. Ducks Unlimited, against all odds in the declensionist world of American letters, remains a splendid magazine, in the tradition of Field and Stream in its heyday. It has lots of advertising, and newsy notes, but still has real feature articles, often narrative in form, articles that fill pages and run for four or more. It has regular features, too--wetland reports, culinary matters. Expository pieces about conservation work. Once in the while a humorous piece. The editors and authors know their public and do not assume the least common denominator. They tell stories, build a knowledge base, and build community.

I'm thinking this might be a model for a magazine of the northern plains.