Dear Ranger Rick

Ranger Rick, Jan, 1999

Last June, we did a story about porcupines. We asked you what it would be like if YOU were a porcupine. Most readers thought it would be tricky. Here's what some of you said.

SPECIAL PROBLEMS If I were a porcupine, my little brother would not want a piggyback ride any more. No one would want to spar with me at Tae Kwon Do. Nobody would like to go tubing at the lake with me because my quills would stab them and pop the innertube. I'm sure glad I'm not a porcupine! Jason Silverberg; Troy, MO

SPECIAL ADVANTAGE The advantage of being a porcupine is that people wouldn't try to eat you or take your stuff. That would be cool! Lauren Schroeder; Brookfield, WI

BIG PLANS If I were a porcupine, I would scare everybody in the house and eat everything in the refrigerator. Kelly Magatagan; Sierra Vista, AZ

WHAT ABOUT SCHOOL? If I were a porcupine, I wouldn't be able to go to school. That would be fun. But I wouldn't be able to read Ranger Rick! David Johnson; Framingham, MA

GOOD AND BAD If I were a porcupine, it would be neat. Bullies at school, NO PROBLEM! People snatchin' my stuff, NO PROBLEM! Then again, it might be hard to make friends. So maybe it would be better to be a person! Hannah Blanchard; Grants Pass, OR

Glad you like being a person, Hannah. I like being a raccoon! Thanks to you and everyone else who wrote. I sure have some imaginative Rangers! --R.R.

NATURELINK SUPPORT We really liked the article in the July issue about our NatureLink program in Delaware. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control helps make the program possible. We use their staff, boats, and equipment to put on this wonderful program. Helen Fischel; Delaware Nature Society; Hockessin, DE

FREE 1998 INDEX! The index for last year's issues of Ranger Rick is ready. Use it to find your favorite stories or photos. For a free copy, send a business-sized envelope with a stamp and your address on it to: Ranger Rick's 1998 Index; Dept RI-98; 8925 Leesburg Pike; Vienna, VA 22184. Check out our entire index on the World Wide Web. For a direct hit, key in www.nwf.org/rrick/rrindex.html

Answers to "Animal Trade," pages 30-31: Trade 1 with 8; trade 2 with 10; trade 3 with 7; trade 4 with 6; trade 5 with 9.

Answers to game on page 29: (catch flies) peacock, bat, feather, raccoon, earthworm, buffalo, fly, pig, sheep, opossum

RANGER RICK is published by the NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION People and Nature: Our Future Is in the Balance TM

Editorial Advisory Board Mark Van Putten President and Chief Executive Officer, NWF Bob Strohm Vice President of Publications, NWF Edwin B. Kurtz Professor Emeritus, Life Sciences University of Texas of the Permian Basin Bernice E. Cullinan Professor, Early Childhood and Elem. Ed., New York University

Ranger Rick Staff Gerald Bishop Editor Claire Miller Managing Editor Donna Miller Design Director Page Carr Photo Editor Deborah Churchman Senior Editor Ellen Lambeth Associate Editor Elizabeth Schleichert Associate Editor Robyn Gregg Production Editor Margaret King Designer Michele Mojher Editorial Secretary

PUBLISHING Staff Patricia Najda Senior Director, Circulation/Marketing Heidi Schafer Toloczko Retention Director Karan A. Sage Fulfillment Manager Laura S. Hickey Production Director

NWF Executive Staff Mark Van Putten President and CEO Eileen Morgan Johnson General Counsel Norman L. Dean Senior Vice President for Conservation Programs Natalie S. Waugh Senior Vice President for Constituent Programs Lawrence J. Amon CFO & Vice President for Financial and Administrative Services

Vice Presidents Jacquelyn Bonomo (acting), Barbara J. Bramble, Robert S. Ertter, J. Scott Feierabend, R. Montgomery Fischer, John H. Giesecke, Philip B. Kavits, James S. Lyon (acting), Jaime Berman Matyas, Christopher N. Palmer, Steven J. Shimberg, Bob Strohm, Carolyn Waldron

NWF BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers: Gerald R. Barber, Chair; Edward Clark, Jr., Paula J. Del Giudice, Becky Scheibelhut, Vice Chairs Directors: Virginia P. Allery, Richard Baldes, James Baldock, Charles T. Brown, Jr., James L. Carroll, Dan Deeb, Daryl Durham, Judith Espinosa, Thomas Gonzales, Allen W. Guisinger, Mary C. Harris, Thomas M. Martine, Stanley A. Moberly, Steven L. Montgomery, Stephen E. Petron, Bryan Pritchett, John S. Rainey, Jo Lyn Reeves, Jerome C. Ringo, Harmon Shade, Maxine S. Thomas, Spencer Tomb, Thomas L. Warren Past Presidents: Thomas L. Kimball, Jay D. Hair

Ranger Rick is printed by Quad/Graphics in Sussex, Wisconsin. Pre-press by North American Color, Inc. An annual index to Ranger Rick is available free by writing to the editorial offices at the address below. Ranger Rick is also indexed in the Children's Magazine Guide, which is available in libraries.

Editorial offices: Readers' letters and other correspondence should be sent to Ranger Rick; 8925 Leesburg Pike; Vienna, VA 22184. Please note: Ranger Rick magazine no longer accepts unsolicited article queries or manuscripts. Photographers and artists wishing to send unsolicited portfolios should first write for our photo and art guidelines. Any unsolicited material sent to us will be returned only if accompanied by a valid courier account number or a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage. We accept no liability for damage or loss of any unsolicited material.