The International Wolf Center will feature an exhibit highlighting American author and environmentalist Sigurd Olson through Oct. 31.
Among other photos and artifacts, The Sigurd Olson Legacy: Wilderness, Writing and Wolves Exhibit features a re-creation of Olson’s famous writing shack.
Sigurd F. Olson was one of America’s most beloved nature writers and most influential conservationists of the 20th century. Best known as the author of The Singing Wilderness and eight other books, Olson also played an important role in the preservation of a number of national parks, seashores, and wilderness areas.
Olson’s first book of 34 essays on wilderness and the Quetico- Superior canoe country, The Singing Wilderness, was published in 1956 when he was 57. As a wilderness activist and advisor to presidents, policymakers and environmental organizations, Olson was instrumental in the creation of wilderness areas across the continent, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Quetico- Superior. He fought for wild lands in legislative and policy battles over dams, logging, development and mining, much like those in contention today.
The exhibit also includes eight Francis Lee Jaques pen and ink originals, which were used to illustrate two of Sigurd Olson’s books: The Singing Wilderness and Listening Point. Visitors will also see a wolf research timeline for the United States, a map of Olson-influenced wilderness areas, and the story of the Listening Point Foundation, which advances Olson’s legacy of wilderness education and preserves his cabin at Listening Point near Ely.
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