Perspectives

Below you will find a selection of key documents relating to natural resource issues, and in particular wildlife. They are categorized according to the issue and geographical area to which they primarily refer.

INDEX
Fur
Animal Rights
Animal Rights / Eco-Terrorism
Conservation / Sustainable Use (General)
Conservation / Sustainable Use (Marine)
Conservation / Sustainable Use (Terrestrial)
Diet (Vegetarianism / Meat-Eating)
Forestry
Livestock
Rules and Regulations: Labeling
Rules and Regulations: Water

Fur

International

Saving the planet with … plush toys? FCUSA commentary. (Nov. 30, 2010)

Fur: It’s only cruel to waste. By Julia Baum, The State Hornet (California State University, Sacramento); Feb. 17, 2010.

The plight of the green fashionista. By Joanna Weiss, Boston Globe; Dec. 19, 2009.

European politicians are breathtakingly hypocritical about sealskins. The Economist (UK). (May 14, 2009)

Fur and against. Liz Hurley is back in the headlines for advertising it. But fur is part of our heritage. Sunday Times (UK). (Dec. 7, 2008)

Making the case that wearing fur can be eco-friendly. By Hollie Shaw, Calgary Herald. (Dec. 5, 2008)

Can fur be sold as eco-friendly? Portlander to find out. By Scott Learn, The Oregonian. (Sept. 18, 2008)

Can wearing fur be guilt-free? By Sanjida O’Connell, The Independent (UK). (Sept. 18, 2008)

Designer Mariouche turns controversial fur green. By Delia Montgomery, for Green Options Media. (Aug. 30, 2008)

Fur: sustainable resource or fashion faux pas? CBC News. (Mar. 20, 2008)

Plastic bags on our backs. FCUSA commentary. (Mar. 14, 2008)

Can you wear fur with a clear conscience? By Stephanie Rafanelli, Daily Mail (UK). (Feb. 18, 2008)

Climate change cure is warm and fuzzy. By Janet Albrechtsen, The Australian. (Jan. 9, 2008)

In defense of fur coats. By Betsy Hart, Scripps Howard News Service. (Dec. 13, 2007)

Eco-indulgence. Green luxury products for the trust fund tree-hugger. By Shana Ting Lipton, Radar. (July 2007)

China, where American mink gets glamour. Report on US-China fur ties, by the Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN) of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, May 16, 2007. (PDF)

I’d rather wear fur than go naked. What really lies under the skin of today’s anti-fur hysteria is a discomfort with man’s domination of nature and beast. By Brendan O’Neill, The Guardian, UK. (Mar. 19, 2007)

The skin trade war. By Karen Mazurkewich, Globe and Mail, Canada. (Mar. 17, 2007)

Why Blackglama mink coats are considered the best fur coats available. By Gregg Hall, stylishwomensapparel.com.

What’s all the fuzz about? Status, of course. By Robin Givhan, Washington Post. (Mar. 16, 2007)

Moscow cool to anti-fur plea. Animal rights group speaks of cruelty; wearers point to temperature. By Michael Mainville, San Francisco Chronicle. (Feb. 11, 2007)

Fur sales reflect culture change. Cool fashion in cold weather. IWMC World Conservation Trust. (November 2006)

Are we gradually warming to fur? By Vanessa Friedman, The Financial Times. (Nov. 17, 2006; Outside link.)

In Defence of Fur. Ignore the protests of naked celebs: fashion is the best possible use of animals’ skins. By Josie Appleton, The Manifesto Club. (Sept. 28, 2006)

Replica clothes pass Everest test. Natural fiber clothing of 1924 expedition vs. modern synthetics. BBC News. (June 13, 2006)

The return of fur. By Eugene LaPointe, president, IWMC World Conservation Trust. (February 2006)

The return of the fur coat: A commodity chain perspective. By Lise Skov, Current Sociology, Vol. 53, No. 1, 9-32. (2005; PDF format)

Should You Be Faking It? Are you wearing fake fur and feeling just a tiny bit smug? By Sue Reid, Daily Mail, UK. (November 2004)

Why This Bunny Will Wear Fur Again. By Jane Chastain for WorldNetDaily. (Dec. 4, 2003)

New Styles, Old Fibers Environmental fashion consultant Delia Montgomery explores some exciting new fiber crafts, such as fox wool and fur-and-cotton yarn. (February 2001)

Fur Ethics Environmental fashion consultant Delia Montgomery interviews renowned Illinois fur farmer Larry Frye. (November 2001)

An American Fur Farmer in Russia FCUSA president Paul Westwood recalls a memorable trip to Moscow. (November 2001)

Fur Facts (HTML version; PDF version). Produced by Fur Commission USA. (September 1998)

The Law & British Farmed Mink. Briefing document produced by the British Fur Council.

Producers, Consumers and Clothing Confusion Is mink fur really any different from sheepskin? Is its production really separate from the human food chain? FCUSA commentary. (December 2000)

A Day at the Races : The Fur Trade Is So Far Ahead of Politically Correct, Others Are Racing Just to Keep Up FCUSA commentary. (July 2000)

Fur and Freedom: In Defence of the Fur Trade By Richard North. IEA Studies on the Environment No. 16, published by the Environment Unit, The Institute of Economic Affairs, London. Outside link, PDF format. (January 2000)

New Zealand

Money grows on trees in New Zealand. Cozying up to eco-friendly fur. By Chrys Hutchings, for PERC Reports. (Outside link to Man In Nature; December 2008)

Alien Invasion: How the possum became public enemy No 1. By Kathy Marks, The Independent (UK). (Outside link; Dec. 27, 2006)

The pernicious possum. By Glynis Poad, Wild Fibers Magazine. (Outside link; 2004)

Fur Fashion to the Rescue : Trapping Eases New Zealand’s Plague of Possums. By Hattie Klotz for the Ottawa Citizen. Reproduced with permission. (March 2001)

North America

Mink Farming in the USA Four-page leaflet produced by FCUSA.(PDF format)

Saving the planet with … plush toys? FCUSA commentary. (Nov. 30, 2010)

Environmental advocates promote nutria fur as a fashionable way to help protect the wetlands. By Susan Langenhennig, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). (Jan. 18, 2010)

Sustaining the Wild. The business of trapping fur in Quebec’s woodlands. By Jennifer Freitas, The Link (Concordia University, Quebec). (Mar. 4, 2009; outside link to Man In Nature)

Minks give their all fur Wisconsin ranchers. By Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (Feb. 21, 2009)

Hair of the dog that licked you; Fur isn’t cruel if it comes from Fido’s coat. By Erin Kobayashi, Toronto Star. (Feb. 6, 2009)

Attacks on fur industry misguided and misleading. By David Kriegsman, furrier, for the Asheville Citizen-Times (N. Carolina). (Aug. 22, 2008)

Cuddle up this winter with Wisconsin mink. By Jill Makovec, Alice in Dairyland, for AgriView. (Jan. 10, 2008)

Studio NAFA: Aiming at creative cooperation with fashion. Infurmag.com interview with Studio NAFA executive director Tina Jagros. Outside link. (Oct. 15, 2007)

Bountiful, beautiful fur. National Post overview of Canada’s fur trade. Outside link. (Oct. 15, 2007)

Bright young talents bode well for the future of fur. Fur World. (July 16, 2007)

World fur demand good for trappers. The Chronotype, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Outside link. (Apr. 30, 2007)

Sold Out: Love and death in the fur industry. By Marjorie Skinner, The Portland Mercury, Oregon. Outside link. (Mar. 8, 2007)

The Fur Trade. Competing buyers operate in a volatile market. By Melodie Wright, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska. Outside link. (Jan. 17, 2007)

Have Yourself a Furry Little Christmas! By Jane Chastain for WorldNetDaily. Outside link. (Dec. 8, 2005)

The View from a Utah Mink Ranch. By John Adkins Jr., Black Willow® Mink. (Nov. 21, 2005)

It’s Safe to Wear Fur Once More : Animal-rights folk have lost the ability to intimidate. By Sondra Gotlieb for the National Post, Canada. Reproduced with permission. (February 2004)

Trapping : A Romantic Way to Make a Living. By Robert Sopuck, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, for the Winnipeg Free Press. Reproduced with permission. (February 2004)

Fur Fervor Commentary from the Salt Lake Tribune, reproduced with permission. (February 2003)

“Democratization” of Fur Fur World magazine interviews Alan Herscovici, executive vice president of the Fur Council of Canada. (April 2002)

Boom in Fur Sales Boost Demand, Prices for Wild Game Pelts Anchorage Daily News report. (December 2002)

Make Mine Mink Oregon Fur Breeders Association president Joe Ruef responds in The Oregonian to an opinion piece by Scott Beckstead, president of the Central Coast Humane Society. (December 2001)

Thank You Mr. Sevin, Sir; Memories of a Bayou Trapper and Otter Conservationist By Tom Krause, editor, The American Trapper. Reproduced with permission. (May 2001)

Goodbye Plastic People, Hello “Wear Your Fur Friday” FCUSA commentary on Thanksgiving and “Fur Free Friday” in the U.S. (November 2000)

Making A Living Out of Mink By Baird Helgeson for the Post Bulletin, Rochester, Minnesota. (February, 2000)

Despite Controversy, Fur Farming Rather Mundane By Baird Helgeson for the Post Bulletin, Rochester, Minnesota. (February, 2000)

Plains Folk: Muskrats and Mink Memories of trapping in North Dakota. By Prof. Tom Isern, North Dakota State University. (April 1998)

Winter Time Essay by second-generation fur farmer and high school junior Cristina.

Animal Rights

International

Animal-rights terrorists take away our right to life and liberty. By Edwin Locke, Daily News (Los Angeles). (Apr. 30, 2009)

They don’t test on animals for no reason. Those who view human life as paramount should at least listen to the argument for vivisection. By Brenda Power, Sunday Times. (Oct. 12, 2008)

Media wary of latest shock video. FCUSA commentary on film of alleged Chinese fur farming. (May 2005)

The Green Beast Is Out of Control: In campaigning for animal rights, some activists have lost respect for humanity. By Miranda Devine for the Sydney Morning Herald. Outside link to Man In Nature. (Dec. 2, 2004)

Why This Bunny Will Wear Fur Again. By Jane Chastain for WorldNetDaily. (Dec. 4, 2003; outside link)

Feminism and Fur by Teresa Platt,  examines the ways in which People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals demeans women and others. (March 2003)

A Whacked-Out World Where Animals Have Legal Standing By Dan Murphy, editor, Meat Marketing & Technology magazine. Outside link to Man In Nature. (Sept. 20, 2002)

The Line that Divides Human from Animal Writer and critic Robin Dougherty interviews animal rights lawyer and author Steven Wise for the Boston Globe. (May 26, 2002)

Fur Ethics Environmental fashion consultant Delia Montgomery interviews renowned Illinois fur farmer Larry Frye. (November 2001)

Let Them Eat Cake! PeTA Sees Foot-and-Mouth Disease as the Final Solution By Teresa Platt, Executive Director, FCUSA. (April 2001)

Animal Rights and Catholicism By Dr. James Beers, biologist (retired), US Fish & Wildlife Service. Outside link. (January 2001)

The Illogic of Animal Rights and Fifty Things Animals Can’t Do. A pair of essays by award-winning author and founder of the first company to distribute paperless books electronically, J. Neil Schulman. Outside links to Man In Nature. (1995, 2000)

Jesus Was an Omnivore, God the Father Was a Furrier Response to PeTA’s “Jesus Was A Vegetarian” campaign. FCUSA commentary. (Nov. 30, 1999)

Fur Is Natural … and Environmentally Sound A letter from fourth-generation furrier Mark Schumacher to a sixth-grade student interested in starting an animal rights club. (Posted here Oct. 7, 1999)

“Ho, ho, ho! Plastic Santas?” A seasonal look at “Evolutionary Fur” – guaranteed 100% unnatural! By Teresa Platt, Executive Director, FCUSA.

Saving Society from Animal Snuff Films. By Teresa Platt, Executive Director, FCUSA, and Simon Ward. (November 2002)

North America

Animal rights is wrong. By Loretta Baughan, Spaniel Journal. (August 2009)

The Three R’s of the HSUS Agenda. By Susan Crowell, Farm and Dairy magazine. (Apr. 2, 2009)

Bookshelf : The animal research war. FCUSA guest commentary, by P. Michael Conn and James V. Parker. (Sept. 15, 2008)

Animal liberation is not lethal? May the myth rest in peace. FCUSA commentary. (Sept. 1, 2008)

Is Amanda Beard an animal rights hypocrite? PeTA’s gold medalist celeb endorser may hate fur, but as of last year, she loved leather. By Cameron Bird, Orange County Register. (Aug. 6, 2008)

The perfect storm: 18 months of protests, harassment result in furrier forced to pay legal fees for animal rights groups. FCUSA commentary. (Apr. 15, 2008)

Pity PeTA: Ingrid Newkirk’s views on life after death. Body to be chopped for cheap publicity. FCUSA commentary. (Nov. 22, 2007)

California Focus: The new animal-rights battleground. Proposed ballot measure latest step to end animal agriculture. By David Martosko, Center for Consumer Freedom, for the Orange County Register, California. (Oct. 16, 2007)

On the edge of common sense: Animal caregivers vs. animal activists. By Baxter Black, Amarillo Globe News, Texas. (Oct. 13, 2007)

Critic speaks against HSUS. Patti Strand, director of the National Animal Interest Alliance, on the agenda and modus operandi of the Humane Society of the United States, Long Beach Press-Telegram, California. (Oct. 14, 2007)

Duking it out at Duke University. FCUSA’s executive director Teresa Platt reports on “simplistic” and “irritating” Animal Law Conference. (May 8, 2006)

Dead wrong baby; Animal-rights movement hits new low, editorial by Brian Jones, The Telegraph, St. John’s, Newfoundland. Reproduced with permission. (Dec. 9, 2005)

PeTA’s Non-Apology Apology: The group still equates animal killings to the Holocaust, by Wesley J. Smith, Discovery Institute. Outside link to Man In Nature. (May 6, 2005)

Muddle-Headed Philosophers : When Animal Rightists Deal in “Murder”. FCUSA commentary on PeTA’s fur recycling program. (Apr. 6, 2004)

PETA’s War on the World’s Dispossessed Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, considers the damage done by fur opponents to the sealers of Canada. (Feb. 7, 2003)

No Ethics in Hampering Training of Veterinarians By Prof. Robert Speth of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University. Outside link to Man In Nature. (July 28, 2002)

PeTA’s Zeal Pushes the Envelope Too Far for Some By Virginian-Pilot columnist Bill Sizemore, reproduced with permission. (Dec. 3, 2000)

Trappers Are Ones in Box By Times Union (Albany, NY) columnist Fred LeBrun, reproduced with permission. (Feb. 2, 1999)

Animal Rights and Wrongs. By Edwin Feulner, president, The Heritage Foundation. (November 1998)

Should Conflict Generation Be Rewarded by Non-Profit Benefits? Teresa Platt of FCUSA takes a look at the activites of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. (November 1997)

Out Of The Mouths Of ‘Babe’ Comes The Awful Truth About Humanity / Out Of The Mouths Of Editors Come Awful Opinions About Humanity. Santa Barbara News-Press Editor John Lankford and FCUSA Executive Director Teresa Platt debate the message conveyed by a talking pig. (March 1996)

The Rise & Fall of Animal Rights: Holding Activists Accountable. By Alan Herscovici, author of “Second Nature: The Animal-Rights Controversy” and chair of the Canadian Fur Industry Adjustment Committee, which brought together Cree trappers, designers, and other sectors of the fur trade to encourage strategic planning for international competitiveness. (1998) Outside link to Man In Nature.

The Trojan Horse of Animal Protectionism: The Battle Over Curriculum. By Patrick Cleveland, Ph.D., president, Coalition for Animals and Animal Research / San Diego. Commentary on attempts by animal rights groups, and in particular the Humane Society of the US, to control the minds of school children. (1994) Outside link to Man In Nature.

United Kingdom

A Domino Too Far; UK Government Tells Animal Rightists “Enough Is Enough” Commentary on fur farming ban, fox hunting, and campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences. By Simon Ward. Outside link to Man In Nature. (April 2001)

Animal Rights / Eco-Terrorism

International

Animal-rights terrorists take away our right to life and liberty. By Edwin Locke, Daily News (Los Angeles). (Apr. 30, 2009)

Animal liberation is not lethal? May the myth rest in peace. FCUSA commentary. (Sept. 1, 2008)

North America

Researchers to animal-rights activists: We’re not afraid. By Thomas Watkins, CNN. (Oct. 9, 2009; Outside link)

Enough is enough. By Drs. Dario Ringach and J. David Jentsch, letter to the editor, Journal of Neurophysiology. (September 2009)

An unmarked anniversary: A dozen years on HSUS’s payroll. FCUSA commentary on the career of J.P. Goodwin. (June 2009)

Eco-terrorism and slain heroes. By Bruce Walker, for Web Commentary. (June 2007; Outside link)

Beauty and the beasts : Celebrities back Peta, the leading animal rights charity, and it has millions in its coffers. But some of the cash that flows out goes to groups which have links to extremists. The Observer (UK). (August 2004; Outside link)

Turning adversity around; Eco-terror target turns political activist. By Kate Roesler for the Snohomish County (Washington) Farm Bureau News Letter. Reproduced with permission. (March 2004)

Eco-Terrorists Stepping Up Attacks Across America. Heartland Institute commentary, reproduced with permission. (November 2003)

Money Talks in San Diego Blaze. FCUSA commentary on the importance for fur farmers of an ELF arson. (August 2003)

Planned Parenthood Win Landmark Free Speech Case; What’s In It for the Rest of Us? FCUSA’s Simon Ward analyzes the relevance of the Nuremberg Files ruling for others, including animal users. (August 2003)

A Diarist of Animal Rights Crimes : The Respectable Face Behind “Bite Back”. FCUSA’s Teresa Platt investigates the career of Palm Beach cultural communicator Nicolas Atwood. (August 2003)

Deductions for Destruction Greg Yardley of FrontPage Magazine questions the right of many American charities to tax-exempt status. (August 2003)

Stopping Activist Gangsters, by Kerri Houston for CNSNews.com. (June 18, 2003; outside link)

The Environmental Left: Breaking the Law in the Name of Charity, by George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom Institute. Also available in PDF format. (May 2003)

Why So Much Violence for Animals? By David Martosko, Center for Consumer Freedom. (Nov. 18, 2002; Outside link to Man In Nature)

From Push to Shove : Radical environmental and animal-rights groups have always drawn the line at targeting humans. Not anymore The Southern Poverty Law Center reports on the growing scourge of eco-terrorism in North America. Also available inPDF format. (Fall 2002)

PATRIOT: Too Far or Not Far Enough? FCUSA commentary on the USA PATRIOT Act. (Nov. 15, 2001)

Public Must Take A Stand Against Animal Rights Activists By Aaron Putze, Director of Public Relations, Iowa Farm Bureau. Reproduced with permission. (Nov. 3, 2001)

Media Links September 11 with Ecoterror FCUSA commentary on the similarities between international and domestic terrorism. (Oct. 17, 2001)

There Are Animal Rights Terrorists, Too Commentary on ecoterrorism from the Star Tribune (Minneapolis), reproduced with permission. (Oct. 7, 2001)

Use Activism, Not Vandalism, to Aid Environment Newsday (New York) editorial, reproduced with permission. (Sept. 7, 2001)

War in the Woods By Bill Pickell, Washington Contract Loggers Association, reproduced with permission. (Aug. 26, 2001)

Careers in the Conflict Industry : HSUS and the Making of a Conflict Industrialist FCUSA commentary on the career of JP Goodwin. (August 2001)

Harvard and the Making of the Unabomber By Alston Chase, author of Playing God in Yellowstone (1986) and In a Dark Wood (1995). Outside link to the Atlantic Monthly. (June 2000)

Animal Enterprise Protection Act : A Scientist’s Perspective By Edward Walsh, PhD. First published in Lab Animal. Outside link. (February 2000)

Biotech Crop Killers By Michael Fumento of the Hudson Institute, Indianapolis, reproduced with permission. (Jan. 12, 2000)

A Changing Public : Animal Rights Extremist Groups Influence Public Opinion in Ways that Threaten Responsible Dog FanciersFrom the AKCGazette, published by the American Kennel Club, reproduced with permission. (October 1999)

Report to Congress on the Extent and Effects of Domestic and International Terrorism on Animal Enterprises. Prepared by the Department of Justice.

The Oregonian reports by Bryan Denson and James Long (September 1999):

• Part 1: Eco-terrorism sweeps the American West. Escalating sabotage to save the environment has inflicted tens of millions of dollars in damage and placed lives at risk.
• Part 2: Ideologues drive the violence. Radical environmentalists and animal rightists, once separate camps with little use for each other, have joined forces and turned eco-terrorism into a persistent threat.
• Part 3: Terrorist acts provoke change in research, business, society. Saboteurs’ influence extends to vivisection, herbicide use, even filmmaking.
• Part 4: Can sabotage have a place in a democratic community? Experts say it tears at society; some extremists say it’s how to get change.

Animal Rights Activists Have Lost Perspective Commentary from the Calgary Herald, reproduced with permission. (July 15, 1999)

Congressional Testimony of FCUSA Executive Director Teresa Platt to the Committee on Resources, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, Oversight Hearing on “Public and Private Resource Management And Protection Issues in the National Forest Systems” with particular reference to animal rights terrorism and eco-terrorism; May, 1999.

Will Radicals Rule and Humans Suffer? Commentary by Cal Thomas, Los Angeles Times Syndication, on animal rights-related terrorism. Outside link. (June 1997)

United Kingdom

No wonder they get away with it: There aren’t many brownie points to be earned by ambitious law-enforcers or politicians in protecting the rights of people breeding animals for experiments, by Nigel Hasitlow for the Express & Star (UK), Oct. 19, 2004.http://www.expressandstar.com/artman/publish/article_65962.php

Conservation / Sustainable Use (General)

International

Dominion and Stewardship: Believers and the Environment. ”A welcome development of the past thirty years has been the emergence of less-utilitarian attitudes towards the environment by believers and non-believers alike,” writes Dr. Gregg of Michigan’s Acton Institute. “No longer do serious Christians, Jews or Muslims cite Scripture to legitimize the wanton destruction or misuse of the world that God sculpted out of nothingness.” Outside link to Man In Nature. (2004)

The Pros and Cons of Modern Farming By Indur Goklany, Julian Simon Fellow at the Bozeman, Montana-based Political Economy Research Center. (2001)

Interview with Prof. Marshall Murphree In the last two decades, sustainable use has evolved from being a marginal philosophy to a mainstream tool, both for human development and for conservation, and in the process has brought these related fields closer together than ever. No one has done more to bring about this transformation than Prof. Murphree. In 1994, Murphree became the inaugural chair of the Sustainable Use Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Outside link to Man In Nature. (1998)

CITES: Authority Without Accountability or Responsibility By Dr. Jon Hutton, Africa Resources Trust. Outside link to Man In Nature. (1997)

Australia

Animals, People and Politics Dr. Grahame Webb, vice-chair of the IUCN Crocodile Specialist Group and chair of the Australia New Zealand Sustainable Use Specialist Group, says the time has come for Australia’s conservationists to be politically bold and capitalise upon wildlife’s economic value. Outside link to Man In Nature. (1998)

North America

“Environment Inc.”, a five-part series by Tom Knudson of the Sacramento Bee. Part 1: Fat of the Land; Movement’s Prosperity Comes at a High Price A century after John Muir served as the Sierra Club’s first president, environmental groups have successfully traded on his legacy, becoming bigger and richer than ever before. But in their quest for power and money, have they cashed in their tradition? Part 2: Green Machine; Mission Adrift in a Frenzy of Fund-Raising When you give $20 to an environmental organization, you expect it to go toward protecting the environment. But creative accounting hides the myriad ways groups can fold a hefty chunk of that donation back into their fund raising and bureaucracy. Part 3: Litigation Central; A Flood of Costly Lawsuits Raises Questions About Motive Suing the government has long been one of the environmental movement’s most important tools. But today, the targets and proliferation of environmental lawsuits are yielding an uncertain bounty for the land.Part 4: Playing With Fire; Spin on Science Puts National Treasure at Risk Scientists say Western forests are gigantic tinderboxes inviting disaster, badly in need of thinning. But many environmental organizations are ignoring – and sometimes manipulating — that message. Part 5: Seeds of Change; Solutions Sprouting from Grass-Roots Efforts A new kind of conservation is blossoming at the grass roots that focuses on results, not rhetoric. Its goals include buying, protecting and restoring land, and making commerce and conservation work together – without crying wolf. Outside links to the Sacramento Bee. (Apr. 22-26, 2001)

Coming to Terms with the Arctic. By Lisa Mastny. By melding ancient hunting traditions with modern political technique, Arctic indigenous peoples present a baffling challenge to environmental diplomacy. As the Arctic ecology itself begins to change, the need for a common understanding is growing increasingly urgent. This article first appeared in the January/February 2000 edition of “World Watch”, published by the World Watch Institute, and is distributed by FCUSA with permission. (January 2000; PDF format)

Management by Majority. Who should decide if trapping should be banned – the public or wildlife professionals By Ted Williams, former information officer with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. (June 1999)

Rush [Limbaugh] Could Be Right : Teaching Both Sides of Environmental Issues By Dr. Jack Stauder, Professor of Sociology/Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Outside link to Ecotopics International News Service.

Am I My Brother’s Keeper? We are not alone in our struggle to make sense of resource policies, says Teresa Platt and Rita Carlson, Alliance for America’s Vice President for Natural Resources and Public Lands. (January 1998)

The Big Picture : Life Cycle Analysis Paper by Rob Goldberg, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. (May 1992)

Conservation / Sustainable Use (Marine)

International

Flouting the Convention : The ongoing campaign to ban all commercial whaling is driven by politics rather than science, and is setting a terrible precedent
Aron , William, William Burke and Milton Freeman (1999)
Aron is an affiliate professor at the Univ. of Washington and former director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Burke is a professor of law and of marine affairs at the Univ. of Washington. Freeman is a professor of anthropology at the Univ. of Alberta. Direct link to The Atlantic Monthly, May 1, 1999.

World’s Whaling Communities Unite to Assert Their Rights. World Council of Whalers holds first General Assembly. (March 1998)

Marine Stewardship Council Review of this important international certification and labeling initiative from WWF and Unilever, February 1998, with background information on the Forestry Stewardship Council and the “dolphin safe” Congressionally mandated “eco”-label. (PDF format)

A Tuna Tale : Managing A Fishery to Increase Positives, Reduce Negatives By Teresa Platt, formerly of the San Diego-based Fishermen’s Coalition. Outside link to Man In Nature. (April 1996)

Japan

A Message from the People of Taiji, Japan. Taiji is one of four traditional whaling communities in Japan which have repeatedly been denied a quota of minke whales by the International Whaling Commission. (May 1994)

North Atlantic

How Can Anyone Kill a Seal? How Can Anyone Possibly Kill a Whale? ”These are natural questions from people who have spent their lives in populous western cities. To the peoples from northern regions, these questions provoke no more concern than the question, ‘How can anyone ever kill a pig or a cow?’” Statement from the West Nordic Council to mark its theme for 2001, “West Nordic Hunting Culture”. Outside link to “Man In Nature”. (Apr. 27, 2001)

Greenland Pushing for Seal Fur Exports; Environmentalists Maintain Opposition. By Lucy Jones, for the Dallas Morning News. (Dec. 22, 1999)

The Whaling Argument : Explore the Green Route! An interactive web page from the High North Alliance. Loads of fun, but educational too!

North America

What Motivates Seal Hunt Protest Groups? By Myles Higgins, first published by Canada Free Press. (September 2005) Outside link to Man In Nature.

Alliance for America resolution calling for the amendment of the MMPA (May 2001)

The Effects on Inuit Towards Marine Mammal Protection Act Speech presented by Theresie Tungilik, Senior Advisor Arts Economy, Department of Sustainable Development, Government of Nunavut. Outside link to the Alliance for America. (May 2001)

The PR Problems of Canada’s “Other” Seal Hunt : The Inuit, who depend on seals for food, seek a market for the skins By Ruth Walker. Outside link to the Christian Science Monitor, with permission. (May 2000)

Canadian Law-Makers Hear World Council of Whalers Message; Does Paul Watson? By David Hicks, for the World Council of Whalers. (December 1999)

The Strange Politics of the Marine Mammal Protection Act By Okalik Eegeesiak, President, Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, and Sheila Watt-Cloutier, President, Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Canada. (July 1999)

The Tuna-Dolphin Controversy By Michael Scott, senior scientist with the Dolphin Programme of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. (August 1998) Outside link to Man In Nature.

Activists Take Aim at Canadian Seal Hunt By Norma Bennett Woolf, National Animal Interest Alliance. Direct link to NAIA. (1999)

Totems, Taboos, Sacred Cows and Tunafish. Teresa Platt of FCUSA, and founder of the Fishermen’s Coalition, explains how misguided “conservationists” almost destroyed the US tuna fleet. (December 1997)

The Meter Is Running : “Turtle Safe” Meets WTO By Teresa Platt, formerly of the San Diego-based Fishermen’s Coalition. (June 1997)

Conservation / Sustainable Use (Terrestrial)

International

Where’s the Green Steel? Greens Don’t See the Forest for the Trees By Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace. (March 2002; Outside link to Man In Nature)

Africa

Conservation and Local Control: The Front Lines Move to Africa. Why do animal rightists want to derail Zimbabwe’s CAMPFIRE program? Teresa Platt (FCUSA), Patti Strand (National Animal Interest Alliance) and Bruce Vincent (Alliance for America) explain. (February 1997)

Calvinism Minus God, by Prof. Robert Nelson, Univ. of Maryland. US conservationists could learn much from Africa. Direct link to Forbes Magazine with permission.

Eco-colonialism: An Opinion from Sub-Saharan Africa. By Douglas Crowe and Jeff Shryer, Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Gaborone, Botswana.

North America

Collaborative Stewardship: A New Environmental Ethic for the West Lecture presented at the University of California, Berkeley, by Mark Rey, Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Outside link. (October 2000)

The American Conservation Ethic. An inspirational summation of why the American people have what it takes to conserve their cherished environment. Direct link to the National Wilderness Institute. (1996)

Diet (Vegetarianism / Meat-Eating)

The Three R’s of the HSUS Agenda. By Susan Crowell, Farm and Dairy magazine. (Apr. 2, 2009)

Tofu Turkey Won’t Fly: Benefits of meat diet are well-documented – so go ahead and chew the fat. By Dennis T. Avery, Director of Global Food Issues, Hudson Institute of Indianapolis. (Dec. 24, 1999)

Forestry

North America

Hug a Logger, Not a Tree Wall Street Journal interviews logger Bruce Vincent. (May 23, 2002; Outside link to Man In Nature)

The Fight Over Forests and How to Resolve It. By Dr. Alston Chase. Direct link to Forest Industry Lecture Series No. 39, presented by the Dept. of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry, and Home Economics, University of Alberta. (October 1997)

Livestock

International

They’re Serving Up a Pastoral Fantasy; But Small Farms Aren’t the Answer to Every Agricultural Crisis Author and farmer Stephen Budiansky draws a lesson from the latest foot-and-mouth outbreak. Outside link to Man In Nature. (April 2001)

One-Third of Farm Animal Breeds Face Extinction Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations press release. (December 2000)

North America

USDA bets the farm on animal ID program (National Animal Identification System). By David Gumpert and William Pentland, The Nation. (Dec. 14, 2007; Outside link)

Scary stuff or government pipe-dream? National Animal Identification System. By FCUSA Executive Director Teresa Platt. (Sept. 20, 2006)

A revolt against EPA water quality rules; States, courts and Congress claim the EPA lacks the detailed water quality data to set water quality regulations By Dennis Avery, Director of Global Food Issues, Hudson Institute. (July 2001)

CWAP Tsunamis : Farmers Work Hard So They Won’t Get Swept Away By FCUSA Executive Director Teresa Platt. (June 23, 2000)

EPA Targets Cows … and You? Agency Seeks to Extend Its Authority Over Non-Point Source Pollution By FCUSA Executive Director Teresa Platt. (May 30, 2000)

Is Piglet Poisoning the Well? The Sierra Club’s Vision of Small, Tidy Hog Farms Is Sweet but Untrue By Dennis Avery, Director of Global Food Issues, Hudson Institute. (Outside link to the Hudson Institute)

North America

U.S. Clean Water Act (Legal Information Institute)

U.S. Clean Water Act (Wikipedia)

National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Writers’ Manual. Published by the Environmental Protection Agency, 2010. “Its primary purpose as a technical resource is to guide new state and EPA permit writers through the basic steps of permit development and issuance; however, the manual also is intended to serve as a resource for others (e.g., stakeholders, the regulated community) interested in the NPDES permitting process.”

EPA to assist livestock operators to prevent water pollution discharges and reduce air emissions. Environmental Protection Agency press release. (Oct. 15, 2007)

Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations. Produced by US Department of Agriculture and US Environmental Protection Agency. (1999)

Getting started with TMDLs. Primer by Dr. Wesley Jarrell, Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology, to the science, policy and societal elements of Total Maximum Daily Loading. (PDF format)

Pollution prevention, water quality and mink farming. Special to FCUSA by Sigma Environmental Services, Inc., Milwaukee. (April 2008)

Bringing water saving interventions to the food industry. Water Management Resources, O’Fallon, IL.

Utah Division of Water Rights, appropriation policy and rules.

Grants and funds

EPA clean water financing. Environmental Protection Agency.

Clean water: How states allocate revolving loan funds and measure their benefits. Report by US Government Accountability Office to Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives. (June 2006; PDF format)

State implementation of the Clean Water Act’s Total Maximum Daily Loads program. Western Governors’ Association and Western States Water Council symposium. (Dec. 11, 2002)

Manure and nutrient management plans

Farmer Frans Fur Farm. An Excel spreadsheet aid in planning animal waste management systems. Designed by engineer Bruce Wilson for the Oregon Agriculture Department, 2006.

Being proactive about nutrient management, and To permit or not to permit: That is the question. Special feature on nutrient management, Fur Farm Letter, spring 2009 issue.

Maine Compost School, including presentations to the National Carcass Disposal Symposium, 2006.

Achieving economic and environmental benefit through agricultural and municipal cooperation in co-composting green waste with animal manure. 2003 OSWER Innovation Pilot Project, final report, May 2005. (PDF; outside link)

National Planning Procedures Handbook: Draft comprehensive nutrient management planning technical guidance. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, July 2002.

Nutrient management: Careful management of all aspects of soil fertility to meet crop needs and minimize impacts on water quality. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Wisconsin.

Nutrient management. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation practice standard, Code 590. (May 2001, revised December 2001; PDF format)

Components of a nutrient management plan in Minnesota. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, July 2002. (PDF format)

Manure and nutrient plans, permits, regulations. Iowa Manure Management Action Group, Iowa State University.

Illinois manure management plan. University of Illinois Extension.

Washington State University livestock nutrient management publications.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: NR 243 animal feeding operation rule revisions. (2007)

Maps for nutrient management planning. By Thomas Bass and Julia Gaskin, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Casey Ritz, Poultry Science Department, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. (Revised March 2006)

Comprehensive nutrient management planning. CNMP project team, University of Nebraska.

Components of a complete manure management plan. By Profs. James Barker and Joseph Zublena, North Carolina State University, published by North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. (1996)

Composting: An alternative for livestock manure management and disposal of dead animals. By A. Sandeen and M. Gamroth, Oregon State University Extension Service. (2003)

Why a nutrient management plan? By Tom Basden, West Virginia University Extension Service.

Commentaries / opinions

Oklahoma water wars. By Trent Loos, for High Plains / Midwest Ag Journal. (Jan. 18, 2008)

Coalition letter on the Clean Water Restoration Act. From David Ridenour, National Center for Public Policy Research, et. al, to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Oct. 9, 2007)

Not all favor restoring Clean Water Act. By Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio. (Sept. 27, 2007)

Western business group warns of Congressional power grab for West’s water. Western Business Roundtable on proposed Clean Water Restoration Act. (2007)

A revolt against EPA water quality rules; States, courts and Congress claim the EPA lacks the detailed water quality data to set water quality regulations By Dennis Avery, director of Global Food Issues, Hudson Institute. (July 2001)

Congress attempts to put brakes on TMDL juggernaut. Special to FCUSA by Russell Frye of Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC. (Sept. 7, 2000)

CWAP tsunamis: Don’t get swept away. By FCUSA executive director Teresa Platt. (June 15, 2000)

April showers bring May flowers … and technocrats? FCUSA commentary on Clean Water Action Plan. (May 10, 2000)

Farmers critical of nonpoint rules. From The Country Today (Wisconsin). (March 2000)

TMDLs: The EPA fishes something nasty from the Clean Water Act By Richard Halpern, published by the Center for Global Food Issues. This paper examines the EPA’s decision to pursue aggressive enforcement of the Clean Water Act’s section 303(d) – Total Maximum Daily Loads. (February 2000; PDF format)

The water rights rebellion. Analysis of Clean Water Action Plan by J. Zane Walley, Paragon Foundation. (June 1999)

Clean Water Act chaos. FCUSA commentary. (May 6, 1999)

A word on water: Clean Water Act and animal feeding operations. By FCUSA executive director Teresa Platt. (April 5, 1999)

United Kingdom

Manure management plan: A step by step guide for farmers. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. (June 2003; PDF format)

For further information contact Fur Commission USA.

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