Sigurd F. Olson

Sigurd F. Olson (April 4, 1899 - January 13, 1982) was an American author, environmentalist, and advocate for the protection of wilderness. Sigurd Olson lived most of his life in the northern Minnesota town of Ely, writing about the natural history, ecology, and outdoor life in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He was influential in the protection of the Boundary Waters and the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, becoming president of the Wilderness Society from 1963 to 1971. He also helped establish Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Sigurd Olson grew up in northern Wisconsin where he developed his life-long interest in the outdoors. After studying agriculture, botany, geology, and ecology at Northland College, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Illinois, he moved to Ely, Minnesota to teach at Ely Junior College, working as a canoe guide during the summer months.

Books

• 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 North Country (1976)
• Of Time and Place (1982)
• Songs of the North . Howard Frank Mosher, ed. (1987)
• . Mike Link, ed. (1988)
• . Mike Link, ed. (1990)
• . Edited and with an Introduction by David Backes. (2001)
• . Edited and with an Introduction by David Backes. (2004)

External links

• The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College
• Sigurd Olson website at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Sigurd Olson at the Minnesota Historical Society's Author Biography Project