Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright for this collection is owned by Dr. M. Rupert Cutler. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to research with the exception of records containing HIPAA- or FAFSA-protected, sensitive, or personally identifiable information. These records are noted in the file-level description. Contact Virginia Tech Special Collections for more information.

Existence and Location of Copies

Some of this collection has been digitized for a digital exhibit, A Lifetime of Service: Selections from the M. Rupert Cutler Papers .

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], M. Rupert Cutler Papers, Ms2020-005, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The M. Rupert Cutler Papers were donated to Special Collections and University Archives in several accruals between 2019 and 2021. Additional accessions are expected.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the M. Rupert Cutler Papers was completed in July 2021, as part of the project, "This Land is Your Land: Creating Access to the M. Rupert Cutler Papers," funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2020 to 2021.

Biographical Note

M. Rupert Cutler is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He is an environmentalist and a journalist focusing on conservation and local Roanoke issues. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in Wildlife Management in 1955 and a Master's and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees from the Department of Resource Management at Michigan State University in 1969.

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Cutler worked as an instruction book writer for Argus Cameras in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1956, he moved to Arizona where he edited the Winslow Mail, a weekly newspaper. In 1957, he accepted the post of executive secretary of Wildlife Conservation Incorporated in Boston and in 1958 he was hired by the Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries to be associate editor of Virginia Wildlife, the Virginia Game Department's magazine. In 1961, Cutler was promoted to Chief, Education Division, Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries. Cutler was then in Washington D.C. serving as editor of publications of the National Wildlife Federation (1962-1965) and then as assistant executive director of The Wilderness Society (1965-1969).

In 1969, Cutler returned to Michigan to study for his doctorate at Michigan State University and to work as a Graduate Research Assistant in MSU's Department of Resource Development. With his degree, he became assistant professor of resource development and the state's extension specialist in natural resources policy, a post which he held from 1972-1977. In 1977 he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve as assistant secretary of agriculture for conservation, research, and education. From 1977 to 1980 he provided policy direction to the U.S. Forest Service, the Soil Conservation Service, and USDA's research, extension, and library agencies. He was also senior vice president of the National Audubon Society (1980-1983), and executive director of Population-Environment Balance (1983-1987). From 1987-1990 he was the president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, an organization based in Washington, DC devoted to protecting animals and their habitats in the United States.

M. Rupert Cutler moved to Roanoke, Virginia in January 1991. From 1991 to February of 1997, he was the executive director of Virginia's Explore Park, a 1,000-acre outdoor living history museum and environmental education center on the Roanoke River in Roanoke and Bedford counties. In March of 1997, M. Rupert Cutler became the founding executive director of the Western Virginia Land Trust, a new, private, nonprofit association created to help preserve the natural, scenic, and cultural heritage of western Virginia on private land, using conservation easements. Between 2004-2009, he sat on the board of the Western Virginia Water Authority, which was created in 2004 to provide water and waste water treatment to the City of Roanoke and Roanoke County.

From 2002-2010, Cutler acted as a Trustee for the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, a semi-governmental organization created in 1966 to promote the use and preservation of Virginia's public lands. For part of this time he was also serving as President of the Roanoke chapter of the Kiwanis Club (2002-2003), of which he is a long-standing member. From 2006-2009 he also served as chair of the Steering Committee of the Nonprofit Resource Center of Western Virginia, which supports the work of regional nonprofits. He has also served on the boards of Opera Roanoke, the Harrison Museum of African-American Culture, Valley Beautiful, the Roanoke Urban Forestry Council, Historic Greenfield, and has worked on a number of committees to preserve and improve Roanoke and the environment.

Scope and Content

The M. Rupert Cutler Papers includes personal and professional correspondence, records of Cutler's participation in a variety of clubs, boards, and committees, documents pertaining to local Roanoke issues and events, speeches, articles, and other writings by Cutler, news clippings pertaining to Cutler's interests, photographs, audio cassettes, CDs, VHS cassettes, and awards and certificates.

Series I. Personal Records consist of letters, emails, greeting cards, postcards and invitations to and from family and friends, travel records, and photographs of people and events. This series contains some restricted materials, mostly consisting of HIPAA-protected personal information. These restricted materials are noted at the file-level.

Series II. Clubs contains records of Cutler's participation in the Roanoke Valley Bird Club, the Roanoke chapter of the Kiwanis Club, Sons of the American Revolution, and the Virginia Gentlemen Barbershop Chorus.

Series III. Roanoke Regional Records contains news articles, event records, invitations, correspondence, and publications relating to the City of Roanoke and the surrouding area. It also contains records of M. Rupert Cutler's service on the Roanoke City Council from 2002-2006 and 2009-2011.

Series IV. Boards and Committees Records consist of documents relating to M. Rupert Cutler's service on the boards of the Western Virginia Water Authority (2004-2009), Opera Roanoke (2006-2009), Virginia Outdoors Foundation (2006-2010), and the Blue Rdige Land Conservancy (2009-2020). It also contains records of his participation in committees such as Roanoke Arts Commission (2003-2014), Mill Mountain Advisory Committee (2003-2006), Sustainable Oceans, Coasts, and Waterways Advisory Committee (2004-2005), Cabell Brand Center (2005-2014), Nonprofit Resource Center of Western Virginia (2006-2009), Virginia Metropolitan League (2006-2014), Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition (2008-2009), Hollins Presidential Advisory Council (2018-2019) and Historic Greenfield (2019-2020).

Series V. Professional Records cosists of correspondence and documents relatig to Cutler's work, including as senior vice president of the National Audubon Society (1980-1983), executive director of Population-Environment Balance (1983-1987), president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife (1987-1990), executive director of Virginia's Explore Park (1991-1997), executive director of the Western Virginia Land Trust (1997-1999), and in several teaching positions at Virginia colleges and universities (1999, 2010, 2020). This series contains some restricted materials, consisting of FERPA protected personal information. These restricted materials are noted at the file-level.

Series VI. Speeches and Writings contains opinion pieces, presentations, lectures, articles, book chapters, and speeches written by M. Rupert Cutler.

Series VII. Envrionmental Activism contains correspondence, publications, newsletters, conference materials, event materials, and travel documents relating to environmental and conservation work.

Series VIII. News Clippings contains published news articles that Cutler collected and notated on subjects such as conservation, environmentalism, politics, local Roanoke issues, achievements of himself and people he knows, and disasters.

Series IX. Audio Visual Records consists of audio cassettes, VHS cassettes, CDs, DVDs, photographs and photographic negatives documenting Cutler's personal and professional activities, including events, ceremonies, lectures, parties, conferences, and documentaries.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by type of material into the following series:

Series I. Personal Records Series II. Clubs Series III. Roanoke Regional Records Series IV. Boards and Committees Records Series V. Professional Records Series VI. Speeches and Writings Series VII. Environmental Activism Series VIII. News Clippings Series IX. Audio Visual Records

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Conservation easements
• Conservation projects (Natural resources)
• Environmental policy
• Environmental protection
• Local government
• Roanoke (Va.)
• Roanoke County (Va.)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the M. Rupert Cutler Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).