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.