Overview

A probing study of the way diverse conceptions of nature shape our responses to specific environmental issues, this book examines the recent clash over a proposed deer hunt on the largest public watershed in Massachusetts. Concerned that the unchecked growth of the deer population might compromise the Quabbin reservoir - the principal source of drinking water for greater Boston - proponents of the hunt argued that some form of management was essential. Opponents contended that the deer posed no threat to the reservoir's ecosystem and that a natural balance would be achieved if the animals were left undisturbed. In analyzing this public dispute, Jan E. Dizard draws on a wide range of sources, including interviews with resource managers, animal rights advocates, hunters, and environmentalists. He shows how each faction, while sharing some common ground with the others, projects different meanings onto nature. Those who oppose the hunt tend to see nature as delicately balanced, even harmonious, and human intervention disruptive. Those who favor the hunt see nature as chaotic and unruly, something that must be tamed and kept in check by human management. Dizard examines this local controversy within the context of a century-long national debate over how to harvest yet at the same time protect our natural resources. In so doing, he sheds light on issues such as the preservation of wilderness, the protection of animals, and the fundamental relationship between human beings and the world we inhabit.

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