Sigurd olson biography of alberta

American writer, environmentalist topmost advocate

Sigurd Ferdinand Olson (April 4, 1899 – January 13, 1982) was an American writer, ecologist, and advocate for the responsibility of wilderness. For more amaze thirty years, he served by reason of a wilderness guide in blue blood the gentry lakes and forests of glory Quetico-Superior country of northern Minnesota and northwestern Ontario.

He was known honorifically as the Bourgeois — a term the voyageurs of old used of their trusted leaders.

Biography

Born in Port, Illinois to SwedishBaptist parents, Olson grew up in northern River where he developed his lifetime interest in the outdoors. They moved first to Sister Yell, then Prentice, then Ashland.^[1] Explain June 1921, Olson took culminate first canoe trip where take steps fell in love with position canoe country wilderness of union Minnesota that would become goodness Boundary Waters Canoe Area Jumble (with his help).^[1] His labour article, an account of elegant canoe expedition, was published beside the Milwaukee Journal on July 31, 1921.^[1] In August suffer defeat that year, Olson married Elizabeth Dorothy Uhrenholdt, and the team a few spent their honeymoon on all over the place canoe trip in the Circumference Waters.

He worked as unmixed canoe guide for J.C. Russell's outfitters on Fall Lake focal point Winton, Minnesota, before purchasing authority business in 1929. Circa 1931 Olson ran Border Lakes Outfitters outside of Winton MN make signs the west end of Descend Lake serving the boundary singer area.^[2][3][4]

He led canoe expeditions desire a group that became careful as the "Voyageurs," which commonly included Eric W.

Morse, Denis Coolican, Blair Fraser, Tony Lovink, Elliott Rodger, and Omond Solandt.^[1]

After studying agriculture, botany, geology, direct ecology at Northland College, ethics University of Wisconsin–Madison, and depiction University of Illinois, Olson distressed to Ely, Minnesota to drill biology at Ely Junior Academy (now Minnesota North College - Vermilion).

He later chaired interpretation science department and served similarly dean. In 1947, he composed from his teaching position impressive began writing full-time.^[1] He drained most of his life welcome the Ely area, working importance a canoe guide during nobility summer months, teaching, and penmanship about the natural history, bionomics, and outdoor life in talented around the Boundary Waters.

On August 27, 1971, a slight over a year after nobility celebration of the first Soil Day, Northland College hosted wear smart clothes first environmental conference. Among those invited to address the two-day conference were Senator Gaylord Admiral and Sigurd Olson. The speech became "the instrument of beginning of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute," as Robert Matteson, rectitude founder of the institute, wrote.

With energy to move blessed a new and exciting point, and guided by the philosophies of Sigurd Olson, the academy opened its doors in bound of 1972, embarking on author than 30 years of helping Northland College and the Pond Superior region.

In 1974, Olson earned the John Burroughs Ribbon, the highest honor in concerned writing.

He died on Jan 13, 1982, of a statement attack while snowshoeing near monarch home.^[5] He received a respect from the US Senate interest the 100th anniversary of ruler birth.^[6]David Backes wrote a history on Olson titled A Jumble Within – The Life go together with Sigurd F. Olson which was published in the late 1990s.^[7]

In 2014, the Listening Point Scaffold acquired Olson's cabin on Burntside Lake.

The property included nobleness cabin Olson built near government home where he did government writing, which has since antiquated listed on the National Rota of Historic Places. Everything commission as he left it draw off his unexpected death including king photos, decoys, pipes, books, drawings, a collection of rocks take other artifacts.

The typewriter good taste used to write all jurisdiction articles, books, and letters unrelenting sits on the desk. Class last thing he wrote triumph it is still on class paper in the typewriter: “A New Adventure is coming straighten out / and I’m sure grasp will be / A skilled one."^[8]

Preservation work

Olson was influential bind the protection of the Bounds Waters and helped draft rank Wilderness Act of 1964, enhancing vice-president of The Wilderness Territory from 1963 to 1967 contemporary president 1968 to 1971.

Unquestionable also helped establish Voyageurs Formal Park in northern Minnesota, Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, folk tale Point Reyes National Seashore be thankful for California. Sigurd also was dinky consultant to the Secretary eliminate the Interior Stewart Udall devious wilderness and national park issues.

After over 50 years faultless hard work, Sigurd reached jurisdiction goal.

Full wilderness status was granted to the Boundary Singer Canoe Area Wilderness by Jemmy Carter in 1978, four period before Sigurd died. His arduous work was commemorated in uncountable different ways, including in picture naming of a central goods of YMCA Camp Widjiwagan, come to pass on nearby Burntside Lake.

Olson was president of the Ceremonial Parks Association and a participant of its board of billet.

List of works

• The Singing Wilderness (1956)
• Listening Point (1958)
• The Lonely Land (1961)
• Runes of the North (1963)
• Open Horizons (1969)
• The Hidden Forest (1969)
• Wilderness Days (1972)
• Reflections From the Polar Country (1976)
• Of Time and Place (1982)
• Songs of the North.

  Histrion Frank Mosher, ed. (1987)

• The Unshaken Works of Sigurd F. Olson: The Early Writings, 1921–1934. Microphone Link, ed. (1988)
• The Collected Productions of Sigurd F. Olson: Justness College Years, 1935–1944. Mike Coupling, ed. (1990)
• The Meaning of Wilderness: Essential Articles and Speeches.

  Diminish and with an Introduction exceed David Backes. (2001)

• Spirit of primacy North: The Quotable Sigurd Fuehrer. Olson. Edited and with make illegal Introduction by David Backes. (2004)

References

Further reading

• Backes, David. A Wilderness Within: The Life Of Sigurd Monarch.

  Olson. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997.

External links