Those of us who work in fish and wildlife conservation tend to hang around with people who are as passionate about the resource as we are. We attend meetings with each other and reinforce to each other the importance of what we do. We assume most people know about the history of wildlife conservation in the United States and that they've heard of Aldo Leopold. We're all members of the same choir. You know what? Most of the world doesn't think the way we do, or know anything about most of that stuff - they don't belong to our choir. Hard to imagine, I know. But true.

Take my Dad for example, while he grew up fishing and hunting in Minnesota, he became an electrical engineer and spent his career in engineering and management. He continued to fish (and still does), but I'm not sure he thought much about fish and wildlife conservation and the role of nature in his quality of life - or his responsibility to take part in that conservation.

While visiting this past Christmas, Dad picked up a book I was reading, authored by Dr. Stephen Kellert. After awhile he asked, "Who is this person, 'Leopold,' Dr. Kellert keeps referring to?" I told him a little of what I know about Leopold and a few weeks later I ordered a copy of Sand County Almanac for him. When I visited recently, he started telling me about what he was reading in the Almanac, and how important Leopold's messages are today. It was neat to hear, but also took me aback - how could my own father not have known about these things? What did that say about me as a natural resource communicator? It was a good - and personal - reminder that we need new choirs. We need to make sure communicate with people who don't know what we know or share the same interests we do. And to do that, we have to listen first. But that's a topic for another time.