Closed Seasons

The Transformation of Hunting in the Modern South

By Julia Brock

Closed Seasons

Approx. 240 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 11 halftones, 1 maps, 1 tables, notes, bibl., index

  • Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-8146-7
    Published: April 2025
  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-8145-0
    Published: April 2025

Paperback Available April 2025, but pre-order your copy today!

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In a unique and personal exploration of the game and fish laws in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi from the Progressive Era to the 1930s, Julia Brock offers an innovative history of hunting in the New South. The implementation of conservation laws made significant strides in protecting endangered wildlife species, but it also disrupted traditional hunting practices and livelihoods, particularly among African Americans and poor whites.

Closed Seasons highlights how hunting and fishing regulations were relatively rare in the nineteenth century, but the emerging conservation movement and the rise of a regional "sportsman" identity at the turn of the twentieth century eventually led to the adoption of state-level laws. Once passed, however, these laws, were plagued by obstacles, including insufficient funding and enforcement. Brock traces the dizzying array of factors—propaganda, racial tensions, organizational activism, and federal involvement—that led to effective game and fish laws in the South.

About the Author

Julia Brock is assistant professor of history at the University of Alabama.
For more information about Julia Brock, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"This book will be the go-to history on the rise of modern hunting in the South and the laws that shaped it."—Albert Way, Kennesaw State University

"By incorporating the voices of African Americans, Native Americans, and female conservationists, this exciting book brings the story of conservation lawmaking in the modern South to life, offering a richly human perspective on its history."—Scott Giltner, Culver-Stockton College