Near the end of his life, young people asked Sig what his hope for the world was. He replied, “The hope for the world is in youth. You are the new generation. I am the old generation. You’ve got to carry on the battle to preserve beautiful places. The battle goes on endlessly. You’ve got to keep the flame alive, no matter what the obstacles. The whole world depends on you.”
Sig dedicated his life to the outdoors. Because the wilderness fed his own soul, he knew how important enjoying and preserving the wilderness was for all people, past, present, and future. He urged, “We must look to the future — not the next decade, [but] a future of fifty, one hundred years, or a thousand. The important thing is to save places with wilderness quality to which the people of the future can repair for their spiritual well-being.”
US Conservation
Time Line
1872–First national park established — Yellowstone
1892–Sierra Club founded by John Muir
1899–Sigurd Ferdinand Olson born, Chicago, Illinois
1905–US Forest Service established
1909–President Roosevelt designates the wilderness area near Ely as the Superior National Forest
1921–Olson takes his first canoe trip in the wilderness area near Ely, Minnesota
1930–Shipstead-Newton-Nolan Act prohibits dams and
logging within 400 feet of recreational waterways in Superior National Forest
1936–Olson named dean of Ely Junior College
1938–US Forest Service establishes Superior Roadless Area
1942–Olson begins writing a syndicated column, “America Out of Doors”
1949–President Truman signs an executive order banning airplane travel in the Superior Roadless Area
1953–Olson named president of National Parks Association
1956–Olson’s first book, The Singing Wilderness, is published
1962–Olson becomes consultant on wilderness and national
parks to Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall
1963–Olson inducted into the Izaak Walton League Hall of Fame; National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act enacted
1964–Wilderness Act
1967–Olson receives the Sierra Club’s highest award, the John Muir award
1968–Olson becomes president of The Wilderness Society
1970–First Earth Day; Clean Air Act; Creation of US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
1971–Voyageurs National Park established
1972–Northland College’s Sigurd Olson Environmental
Institute established
1973–Endangered Species Act
1978–Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act
1981–Olson named first recipient of The Wilderness Society’s highest award, the Robert Marshall Award
1982–Sigurd Olson dies snowshoeing near his home in Ely, Minnesota
1991–Olson inducted into the National Wildlife Federation Hall of Fame
2008–Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds global warming trends largely caused by and can be reduced by human activities
Glossary
bluebill: a kind of diving duck with a bright blue bill; also known as greater scaup
concession: something done or agreed to in order to reach an agreement or improve a situation
conservationist: someone who works to promote or advocate for the conservation of natural resources
constellation: a cluster or group of stars that form a shape or pattern visible in the night sky
dam: a barrier that stops or contains water, often for the production of hydropower or electricity
depression: a medical illness when someone feels extremely sad or unhappy
effigy: a dummy, likeness, or figure representing a person
heckler: an individual who challenges a person or group, usually by shouting at a performance, event, or speech
humus: organic matter that comes from decaying plants and animals
kilowatt: a unit of energy
outfitter: a company or service that provides equipment and offers guiding services
portaging: carrying watercraft or supplies over land between two bodies of water
preservation: to preserve or protect something, often referring to natural resources
propaganda: information, true or not, used to influence an audience
ruff: hair growing around or on the neck of certain animals
spiritual: of sacred matters; concerning the mind, not bodily or material
virgin forest: an old-growth forest in its natural state before it has been changed or exploited by humans
voyageurs: French Canadian men employed by fur companies who traveled remote routes in canoes between Montreal and the Canadian Northwest to transport and trade goods and furs from 1650 to 1850
wilderness: an undeveloped area of land in its natural condition, uninhabited and undisturbed by human activity
Places to Visit
Minnesota
• Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) or the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Located in northeastern Minnesota, covering 150 miles along the Canadian border and bordered on the west by Voyageurs National Park. This is a true wilderness. There are eighty-eight entry points for boats. Motorboats are allowed in only some areas. Hiking, canoeing, and day and overnight permits are required.
• Superior National Forest. A boreal forest ecosystem west of Lake Superior. Contains the BWCA in its
northern third.
• Lake Superior. The largest, coldest, and deepest of
the Great Lakes and the world’s largest freshwater lake. Borders Minnesota, Ontario, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
• Ely. Here you can visit Listening Point and Sig’s writing shack. Contact the Listening Point Foundation to arrange a tour, http://listeningpointfoundation.org. Also see Vermilion Community College where Sig taught.
• Voyageurs National Park. Visitor centers include Rainy Lake, Kabetogama Lake, and Ash River. (www.nps.gov/voya/index.htm)
Canada
• Quetico Provincial Park. This protected wilderness is located north of the BWCA and west of Lake Superior in Ontario, Canada. A reservation and entry permit are required to travel here. (www.ontarioparks.com/english/quet.html)
Wisconsin
• Ashland. Visit the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center and Northland College’s Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute. (www.northland.edu/soei)
• Sister Bay. Sig spent his early years in this town in northern Door County along the shores of Green Bay.
• Prentice. Sig imagined he was Daniel Boone while he was growing up here.
• Uhrenholdt Memorial Forest. The land for this forest near Cable, Wisconsin, was donated by Elizabeth’s family to the state of Wisconsin.
Other Places Sig Helped Protect
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska
• Cape Cod National Seashore, south and east of Boston, Massachusetts
• The Florida Everglades
• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, fifteen miles along the southern shore of Lake Michigan in Indiana, spanning from Gary to Michigan City
• Point Reyes National Seashore, thirty miles north of San Francisco, California
Take It Outside
Explore the outdoors by taking a nature walk. Identify plants and trees. Lie on the ground, like Sig did, and listen for the sounds of the Earth. What noises do you hear?
Think about the connection with history when outdoors. Imagine what the place looked like years ago. Who walked here before you? What did they think, wear, or experience? What storms have fallen here? What animals or creatures walked this same path?
Be active outside. Go camping with your family or attend a wilderness camp. Swim in a lake or canoe, kayak, or ride your bike. Go horseback riding or berry picking. In the winter, cross-country ski, ice skate, or snowshoe. Try dogsledding.
Develop a wild
life connection. Search for animal tracks and then research what you find. Even if you can’t spend time in a true wilderness, there are usually many kinds of wildlife that live near us, even in urban areas. Look around for birds, deer, squirrels, geese, chipmunks, or rabbits. Do you see any nests? Go fishing or ice fishing. Try hunting.
Go outside on a clear night. Look up at the sky and identify constellations. Can you see the aurora borealis (known also as the northern lights)?
Learn the value of silence. Try to find a quiet spot outside. Don’t talk or listen to music. Just sit or walk and allow yourself to think or not think. How do you feel?
Write about the wilderness. Grab a notebook and a pen or pencil. Go outside and find a comfortable spot to sit. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? Try to write down in detail what your senses are experiencing. How does it make you feel? Describe your surroundings. What does the sun look like? Can you hear any birds singing or water rushing?
Develop a plan to contribute to protecting our natural resources. Undertake conservation practices, like recycling or conserving resources or energy. Research other possibilities. Are there issues you feel strongly about, like climate change or mining? If so, do your research and then write a letter to a policy-maker or to the local paper stating the problem, what you’ve learned, and what you believe.
Visit a state or national park. Stop by the ranger station or visitor center and learn about the park’s history and unique features. What species of plants, trees, and animals exist here? What is the geology like? Walk one of the trails. Check out the forests, rivers, bogs, prairies, marshes, cliffs, or historic sites.
To Learn More
The Listening Point Foundation, http://listeningpointfoundation.org; PO Box 180, Ely MN 55731. Dedicated to furthering Sig’s legacy of wilderness education and to preserving Listening Point. The foundation sponsors wilderness educational programs and publishes a newsletter and other materials. The foundation also sells Sig’s books.
Website dedicated to Sigurd Olson:
www4.uwm.edu/letsci/research/sigurd_olson/contents.htm
Books by Sigurd Olson:
The Singing Wilderness
Listening Point
The Lonely Land
Runes of the North
Open Horizons
The Hidden Forest
Wilderness Days
Reflections from the North Country
Of Time and Place
Collections of Sig’s essays, speeches, or writings:
Songs of the North: A Sigurd Olson Reader. Howard Frank Mosher, intro and ed.
Spirit of the North: The Quotable Sigurd F. Olson. David Backes, ed.
The Meaning of Wilderness: Essential Articles and Speeches. David Backes, ed.
The Collected Works of Sigurd F. Olson: The Early Writings, 1921–1934. Mike Link, ed.
The Collected Works of Sigurd F. Olson: The College Years, 1935–1944. Mike Link, ed.
The Wilderness World of Sigurd F. Olson, film. Ray Christensen and Steve Kahlenbeck.
Organizations:
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, www.friends-bwca.org. Focuses on protecting, preserving, and restoring the wilderness character of the BWCAW and the Quetico-Superior ecosystem. The organization provides information on such issues as sulfide mining, forest management, and tips for enjoying the wilderness while leaving no trace. Sponsors the Sigurd Olson Lecture Series, which brings visionary conservationists to speak in Minnesota on current natural resource issues. It also sponsors a program with YMCA Camp Menogyn and the Southeast Asian Youth Leadership Initiative to send economically disadvantaged young people on canoe trips in the BWCA.
Izaak Walton League, www.iwla.org/index.php?ht=d/Home/pid/175. Conserves, maintains, protects, and restores the soil, forest, water, and other natural resources of the United States and other lands.
National Parks Conservation Association, www.npca.org. Provides information on national parks and campaigns to protect them.
The Wilderness Society, http://wilderness.org. Provides information and other resources related to conservation and wilderness policy and campaigns. Join the WildAlert network to find out about important issues affecting the wilderness.
Will Steger Foundation, www.willstegerfoundation.org. Educates, inspires, and empowers people to engage in solutions to climate change.
Books for kids:
Kids Camp!: Activities for the Backyard or Wilderness (A Kid’s Guide series) by Laurie Carlson and Judith Dammel; includes stories, projects, and activities.
True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet, by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin.
Websites:
www.nps.gov/voya/forkids/index.htm. Information about Voyageurs National Park
www.ecologyfund.com/ecology/res_kid_home.html. Ecology website with games, activities, links, contests, and information on ecology issues
www.fs.fed.us/kids. Website for kids sponsored by the US Forest Service with information and activities related to nature and the outdoors
www.naturerocks.org. Website with information on playing in and exploring nature
Major Sources
Backes, David. Interview with Kristin Eggerling. July 2009.
Backes, David. A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997.
Backes, David, editor. Anecdotes on website: www4.uwm.edu/letsci/research/sigurd_olson/contents.htm.
Christensen, Ray, and Steve Kahlenbeck. The Wilderness World of Sigurd F. Olson, film profile, Twin Cities Public TV, 1980, Listening Point Foundation.
Ely-Winton Historical Society. Archives and photo collection.
Kellogg, Jeannine. Interview with Kristin Eggerling. May 2010.
Listening Point Foundation. Photo archive.
Oetting, Robert B. “Sigurd Olson — Environmentalist.” Naturalist Vol. 32. 1981:18. Print.
Olson, Robert K. Interview with Kristin Eggerling. October 2011.
Olson, Robert K. Personal photo collection.
Olson (Sigurd F.) Papers: Minnesota History Center, St. Paul, Minnesota. Essays, letters, journals, notes, and documents in Boxes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 17, 30, 31, 38, 41, 42, 59, 62, 64, 70, 73, 83.
Olson, Sigurd.. Recorded interview with John McKane, Robert Herbst and Newell Searle, May 27, 1976.
Olson, Sigurd F. Letters to Jeannine Kellogg, personal collection.
Olson, Sigurd F. Listening Point. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1958.
Olson, Sigurd F. Open Horizons. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1969.
Olson, Sigurd F. Runes of the North. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1963.
Olson, Sigurd F. The Singing Wilderness. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956.
Olson, Sigurd F. “Wilderness Challenge.” Living Wilderness, Summer 1970.
Proescholdt, Kevin. Interview with Kristin Eggerling. September 2009.
Proescholdt, Kevin, Rip Rapson, and Miron L. Heinselman. Troubled Waters: The Fight for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. St. Cloud, MN: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc., 1995.
Wick, Chuck. Interview with Kristin Eggerling. September 2009.
Airplanes, 39, 41, 77
“America Out of Doors,” 50, 51, 77
Anderson, Elmer L., 67
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 44, 82
art, 11
Ashland, 2, 5, 11, 13, 47, 82
Backus, Edward, 35
bears , 8, 40, 70, 73
biology, 15, 23
birds, 6, 10, 13, 14, 64, 73, 83, 84
Blacklock, Les, 49
bluebills, 13
bobcats, 64, 65
Boone, Daniel, 6, 82
Border Lakes Outfitting Company, 37
Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), 35, 41, 43–44, 58, 59, 60, 69, 73–74, 76, 78, 81, 82, 86
Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Wilderness Act, 78
Boundary Waters wilderness, v, 35, 86
Bourgeois, 30
> Boy Scouts, 24
Burntside Lake, 61, 63, 65
camping, 16, 24, 25, 28, 83
Canada, 17, 19, 25, 26, 29, 30, 39,
73, 82
Cape Cod National Seashore, 44, 82
Carter, Jimmy, 60
Cederholm, Anna, 5
chambers of commerce, 33, 35, 47
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 43
chickadees, 10
chipmunks, 27, 63, 83
clams, 6, 7
cranberries, 7, 8
Crockett, Davy, 6
Crooked Lake, 29
Curtain Falls, 29, 35
dams, 35, 36, 77
deer, vii, viii, 6, 38, 40, 64, 83
Dilg, Will, 34
Douglas, William O., 40, 42
ducks, 7, 10, 27, 28, 40
Duluth, 22
Ely Junior College, 24, 39, 41, 52, 77
Ely, Minnesota, 21, 22, 23, 24, 33, 34, 35, 44, 47, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 66, 77, 78
Fall Lake, 19, 22
Florida Everglades, 44, 52, 73, 82
flowers, v, 3, 4, 31
football, 13, 14
forest, 1, 6, 8, 10, 19, 20, 35, 55, 56, 81, 82, 84, 86
frogs, 2, 3, 10,
geese, 10, 83
geology, 22, 41, 84
Hansen, Walter “Wallie,” 37
Hidden Forest, The, 49, 85
Hough, Don, 34
Humphrey, Hubert H., 49, 55
hunting, vii, 7, 8, 10, 27
International Joint Commission of Canada and the United States, 39
Izaak Walton League, 34, 41, 42, 44, 77, 86
Breath of Wilderness Page 5
