A short time back, I had the privelege of spending the day in awe exploring the land around Beaver Creek in Southern Missouri. It was one of the most enjoyable and purely relaxing days I have had in quite some time. This area is southeast of Springfield and still several miles north of the Arkansas border. What was so awe-inspiring about this area is that, as of this writing, it still has not been touched by human hands. There were no power lines, no trash to pick up, no land being moved for new developments, and no other sign of the general wreckage caused by a massive influx of people. We cruised acre after acre in the atv as I marveled at the absolutely breath-taking beauty of nature at its best. The water in the creek was clear, the vegetation grew unimpeded, and the air was crisp and fresh. Written words do not begin to do justice to the scenery that I saw and experienced. I spent most of the day feeling very much like a “city slicker” for not having realized that such natural beauty still existed.

Since that day at Beaver Creek, I have traveled a fair amount throughout various Midwestern towns and cities. A sad realization has been on my mind since that day. That realization is that our nation’s population continues to grow at an uncontrolled rate with virtually no attempt to slow it down. That uncontrolled population growth continues to cause more and more urban sprawl and migration into previously undeveloped areas. While I have never been one to complain much about pollution or cry fowl when a new strip mall is erected, it is disturbing to think that someday our natural beauty will no longer exist. It will be eaten up by the natural havoc caused by too many people trying to squeeze into too small of a space.

These changes should be of concern to all of us. Those who have been labeled environmental extremists in the past have begun to look more and more mainstream in recent years. In fact, they may be dead on. Cities around the nation are starting to take action, but the progress is slow. The solution is two fold: a focused effort on conservation and preservation, and much tougher immigration laws to slow the unfettered population explosion. Email your congressman or senator demanding changes and start making a difference in your own community. Because the time is coming when the answer to whether natural beauty still exists will clearly be no.