Skin and Bones: The Management of People and Natural Resources in Shellcracker Haven, Florida (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology)

Skin and Bones relates the history of Shellcracker Haven, a community pseudonym, to the development of fresh water fish and wildlife management in the state of Florida. It examines the clash of worldviews between community residents who are personally invested and locally sensitive to the ecosystem that has fed their families for several generations, and biologist resource managers who rely on detached science-based models and political sensitivity when making policy decisions. Skin and Bones challenges readers to think about the natural world as more than fragile species and ecosystems to be defended against human destruction or as discrete natural resources to be commercially exploited. Through the Knight family of Shellcracker Haven, one learns of the power of emotional investment in the natural world, and the cost to both people and planet when we destroy that relationship.