Land Ethics Case Study: Too Many Deer By Wesselman Woods

In the case study “Too Many Deer,” members of the local scientific community and residents of the area came together to find a solution to the increasing deer population in Wesselman Woods. In accord to town hall tradition a diverse number of people put forth a variety of ideas. Finding the best idea for controlling the deer population ultimately relied more heavily on the values of individuals in the community. Some put forth straightforward solutions such as luring the herd to one place and shooting them their or introducing hunters to the are for a short time. In contrast, other members of the community had a more equalitarian view point and suggested we find an alternative to killing the deer or at least not be wasteful with the meat. This array of different opinions is an example of the different land ethics held by different people within a community. Leopold suggested that land ethic is extending the sensibilities of the community to all its human and
This leads me to echo my former concern for the vague and subjective nature of Leopold’s message. He states in his paper, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community? It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” (Leopold, 1949) With this as a moral guide to solving the deer problem the conversation could circle around for hours. One may suggest that the deer population threatens the stability or the environment and therefore must be killed. Although, another could make an equally as valuable argument that the corpses of dead deer threaten the beauty of Wesselman Woods. Additionally, someone may put forth the deer’s impact of the flower and plant life in the area is a threat to the beauty of the woods and so on and so