Open Season

In Open Season, as several characters discover the Miller’s weasels, they must choose between reporting the animals—knowing that conservation efforts could impact Saddlestring’s economy—or staying silent to protect local jobs. The novel presents two differing views: one that prioritizes economic growth over wildlife preservation, and another that advocates for coexistence between human society and the natural world.

Vern is the main proponent of economy over ecology. He claims to have the interests of the Saddlestring community at heart when he lectures Joe about the possible economic consequences of a protected zone in the Twelve Sleep Valley. He says, “Think of the logging truck drivers, the cowboys, the outfitters, the fishing guides. They’d be unemployed while the Feds roped off the entire valley for the future” (107). In this speech, Vern argues that human livelihoods outweigh the survival of a small animal population. However, the novel aligns this human-centric worldview with one of its most manipulative and selfish characters, signaling that Vern’s perspective is flawed. As Joe’s investigation slowly reveals the truth, it also exposes the hypocrisy of Vern’s words. Although Vern claims to have Saddlestring’s interests at heart, Vern’s sole motivation is personal financial gain. His dedication to economic growth reaches an extreme when he plans the extermination of the Miller’s weasel colony just to keep the pipeline project alive. Ironically, this extermination plan also results in the deaths of several local hunters, which puts their families in immediate financial peril.

Despite Vern’s extremism, the novel shows that some of Vern’s predictions come true after Joe decides to report the Miller’s weasels’ existence. Unemployment increases as the protected zone reduces local hunting and logging areas, and some of the outsider conservationist groups negatively impact the survival rate of the last weasel colonies. These events depict the complexity of the issue of preservation and the often imperfect reality of its solutions.

Despite these flawed outcomes, through its protagonist, the novel upholds the importance of living cooperatively with the natural world. As a game warden, it is Joe’s duty to ensure humans don’t encroach on animal populations. Joe has “no problem with hunters hunting for meat” (101), as long as it doesn’t occur in excess. When he tickets hunters for exceeding their quotas, he ensures that the extra meat from the illegal kills goes to a local halfway house to help the less fortunate, demonstrating his commitment to both conservation and community welfare.

The Miller’s weasel massacre deeply disturbs Joe since it signifies a complete lack of respect for animal life. While it is Joe’s professional responsibility to investigate endangered species, he also feels morally compelled to help the threatened animals. Joe values animal life, but he also doesn’t hold it above human life. His environmental outlook strikes a balance between human and animal interests, and through his work, he encourages a symbiotic, respectful relationship with the environment he lives in.