JC man named one of 25 most influential in hunting, fishing

His job - and passion - are outdoors

Mark Van Patten has been named by Outdoor Life magazine as one of the 25 most influential people in hunting and fishing.
Mark Van Patten has been named by Outdoor Life magazine as one of the 25 most influential people in hunting and fishing.

Mark Van Patten is one of those lucky people whose job and their passion in life converge.

In 1989, as a private citizen, Van Patten organized the first stream team in Missouri. A stream team allows citizens who are concerned about a stream to do things such as litter control, water-quality monitoring and advocacy as ways to keep the waterways clean.

Since that time, the program has grown to where there are 4,300 stream teams across the state with 86,000 volunteers in those teams who help clean up more than 110,000 miles of streams.