Sigurd Olson
Selected Bibliography
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 (edited by Howard Frank Mosher, 1987)
The Collected Works of Sigurd F. Olson: The Early Writings, 1921-1934 (edited by Mike Link, 1988)
The Collected Works of Sigurd F. Olson: The College Years, 1935-1944 (edited by Mike Link, 1990)
The Meaning of Wilderness: Essential Articles and Speeches (edited by David Backes, 2001)
Spirit of the North: The Quotable Sigurd F. Olson (edited by David Backes, 2004)
Sigurd Olson (April 4, 1899-January 13, 1982) was a conservationist, author, and leader in wilderness preservation who was educated at the Universities of Wisconsin and Illinois. He was a biology instructor at Ely High School and Ely Junior College (currently Vermilion Community College) and became dean of Ely Junior College in 1936. Olson advocated for environmental conservation from the 1920s until his death. He played a significant role in the establishment and protection of northern Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Quetico Provincial Park.
Olson wrote several memoirs about his love for and experiences in nature. In his book Wilderness Days, Olson depicts each changing season in the Quetico-Superior area on the Ontario-Minnesota border. In 1974, Wilderness Days won the John Burroughs Medal for notable contributions in nature writing. Other books by Olson include The Singing Wilderness and Listening Point.
More information on Sigurd Olson from the Minnesota Historical Society.