Yes, Conch-Lers, As a midwest collector limited to fresh water mollluscs, I have sadly watched my favorite shelling hole go from a state where you could sit down in the same place in the Meramec River and collect for hours with only slight shifting (of course, I limited my collecting) to no shells at all in most of my favorite "haunts." (The Meramec is a tributary of the Mississippi running into it in south St. Louis County.) Also, the article didn't mention the effect of silt, from over-0farming or oil from motor boats. Sometimes I could just sit down and cry over the disappearance of the lovely Niades. My husband read and passed the article to me yesterday or the day before. Sadly, Linda