Essays
Trophy or Tribute? — Bugle (2026)
I stood back to contemplate the mass of bone: white skull standing out in contrast against cherry hues, dark antlers against light wall. What, exactly, had I created?
A Deer for Ryan — National Deer Association (2025)
In the dream, I was hunting with Brady. On waking, I remembered: he had died nearly three months earlier.
A Little Madness Between Friends — Bugle (2025)
Matt and I met a decade ago and, courtesy of some strange, still-mysterious alchemy, forged an unlikely bond.
In Pursuit of Wild Places and Wild Food — Covers (2025)
What matters to many of us is not merely the seeking, taking, and eating of birds and mammals. What matters are the landscapes of meaning we traverse as we hunt.
Ma’iingan and Other Cultural Wolves — International Wolf (2017)
To listen and think in these ways, we must dig deep. If everyone involved can do this, perhaps we can begin to treat each other with mutual respect.
Hunter and Non-Hunters: Honoring Shared Values — Petersen’s (2016)
The future of hunting does not depend primarily on defeating a handful of committed opponents who loathe all hunting. It depends on demonstrating to everyone else that most hunting is guided by values they share.
Blind Men and the Elephant of Conservation — Leopold Foundation (2016)
The relation of people to each other. The relation of people to land. What if conservationists devoted equal attention to both?
A Caretaker and a Killer — The Atlantic (2014)
I stood in the snow, struggling to digest what I had heard. I found it inconceivable that someone could be both an environmentalist and a hunter, a caretaker and a killer.
On Hating Hunters and Becoming One — The Center for Humans & Nature (2014)
Listening to early morning gunfire roll across hills and valleys during November deer season, I used to hear the sound of evil.
Killing and Grinning — High Country News (2013)
The image is familiar: A hunter crouches beside a dead deer or elk, grinning into the camera. What do we make of this picture?
Devouring the World — Aeon (2012)
Once upon a time, I believed in the tidy taxonomy of the grocery store.
Full Circle — Outdoor America (2008)
What does it mean to eat?
Life and Death — Northern Woodlands (2006)
Disrespectful hunting has its own lessons to teach.
Articles
Paying for State Wildlife Conservation — Northern Woodlands (2013)
For three-quarters of a century, state fish and wildlife agencies have depended almost entirely on money generated by license sales and federal excise taxes. But trouble is afoot.
The Meaning of Meat — Northern Woodlands (2011)
As a teenager, Deborah Perkins found hunting repulsive. Now she, like other “adult-onset hunters,” looks to the land for sustenance.
Certification Comes to Family Forests — Northern Woodlands (2009)
More and more private landowners are joining third-party certification systems originally designed with industrial logging in mind.
Good Year, Bad Year — Northern Woodlands (2006)
In the Northeast, why are grouse thick as black flies one year, and rare as hen’s teeth the next?
Chapters
Gown and Gun: Coming Out of the Tower’s Closet
Hunting and the Ivory Tower: Essays by Scholars Who Hunt (2018)
“Ma’iingan Is Our Brother”: Ojibwe and Non-Ojibwe Ways of Speaking about Wolves
The Handbook of Communication in Cross-cultural Perspective (2016)
Hunting Like a Vegetarian: Same Ethics, Different Flavors
Hunting—Philosophy for Everyone: In Search of the Wild Life (2010)