Sigurd Olson
| Sigurd Ferdinand Olson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | April 4, 1899 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | January 13, 1982 (aged 82) |
| Alma mater |
Northland College University of Wisconsin–Madison University of Illinois |
| Occupation | Teacher, nature writer, President of The Wilderness Society (1963–1971) |
| Notable work | The Singing Wilderness |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Dorothy Uhrenholdt |
| Awards | John Burroughs Medal (1974) |
Sigurd Ferdinand Olson (April 4, 1899 – January 13, 1982) was an American author, environmentalist, and advocate for the protection of wilderness. For more than thirty years, he served as a wilderness guide in the lakes and forests of the 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.
Born in Chicago, Illinois to Swedish, baptist parents, Olson grew up in northern Wisconsin where he developed his lifelong interest in the outdoors. They moved first to Sister Bay, then Prentice, then Ashland. In June 1921, Olson took his first canoe trip where he fell in love with the canoe country wilderness of northern Minnesota that would become the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (with his help). His first article, an account of a canoe expedition, was published by the Milwaukee Journal on July 31, 1921. In August of that year, Olson married Elizabeth Dorothy Uhrenholdt, and the two spent their honeymoon on another canoe trip in the Boundary Waters. He worked as a canoe guide for J.C. Russell's outfitters on Fall Lake in Winton, Minnesota, before purchasing the business in 1929.
He led canoe expeditions for a group that became known as the "Voyageurs," which routinely includedEric W. Morse, Denis Coolican, Blair Fraser, Tony Lovink, Eric W. Morse, Elliott Rodger, and Omond Solandt.
After studying agriculture, botany, geology, and ecology at Northland College, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Illinois, Olson moved to Ely, Minnesota to teach biology at Ely Junior College (now Vermilion Community College). He later chaired the science department and served as dean. in 1947 he resigned from his teaching position and began writing full-time. He spent most of his life in the Ely area, working as a canoe guide during the summer months, teaching, and writing about the natural history, ecology, and outdoor life in and around the Boundary Waters.
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