Olaus Murie

Olaus J. Murie
Mardy Murie and Olaus at their home, Grand Tetons, 1953
Born	March 1, 1889 Moorhead, Minnesota
Died	21 October 1963(1963-10-21) (aged 74) Moose, Wyoming
Occupation	author, ecologist, forester, wildlife biologist, and environmentalist
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Subject	Ecology, Conservation, Wilderness Preservation
Notable works	Elk of North America
Notable awards	Pugsley Medal, Audubon Medal, Sierra Club John Muir Award
Spouse	Margaret Murie
Relatives	see Murie family article

Olaus Johan Murie (March 1, 1889 – October 21, 1963), called the "father of modern elk management", was a naturalist, author, and wildlife biologist who did groundbreaking field research on a variety of large northern mammals. Rather than conducting empirical experiments, Murie practiced a more observational based science.

Murie focused his research on the North American continent by conducting vast studies throughout Canada, Alaska and Wyoming. Through these constructive yet sometimes treacherous trips, Murie was able to gain valuable experience observing species and collecting specimens. During his first expedition to Canada, Murie discovered his passion for fieldwork and was able to develop resourceful skills from his Eskimo and Indian guides, which were critical for his survival in such a harsh environment. Murie employed many of these same skills as he travelled to Alaska and finally to Wyoming.

These trips served as the foundation for many of his key ideas about wildlife management and conservation. As a scientist of the U.S. Biological Survey, Murie developed key ideas concerning predator prey relationships. Generally unheard of during his time, Murie argued that a healthy predator population was key to ensuring a harmonious balance between predator and prey populations. Murie used these ideas to improve current wildlife management practices.

Throughout his life Murie advocated on behalf of wildlife conservation and management. With his wife, Mardie Murie, he successfully campaigned to enlarge the boundaries of the Olympic National Park, and to create the Jackson Hole National Monument and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. During his career, Murie held many respected positions within environmental organizations. He served as president of The Wilderness Society, The Wildlife Society, and as director of the Izaak Walton League.

Murie was born on March 1, 1889, in Moorhead, Minnesota, the child of Norwegian immigrants. Growing up in this less urbanized region helped foster a love for the wilderness from an early age. Murie studied biology at Fargo College, private liberal arts college of the Congregational Church. When his zoology professor moved to Pacific University in Oregon, he offered Murie a scholarship to transfer there, where he completed studies in zoology and wildlife biology and was graduated in 1912. He did graduate work at the University of Michigan and was granted an M.S. in 1927. He began his career as an Oregon State conservation officer and participated in scientific explorations of Hudson Bay and Labrador, financed by the Carnegie Museum. He joined the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey (now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) in 1920 as a wildlife biologist, spending the next 6 years in the field with his brother Adolph Murie, studying Alaskan caribou, mapping migratory routes and estimating numbers. He married Margaret Thomas in 1924 in Anvik, Alaska. They spent their honeymoon tracking caribou through the Koyukuk River region.