37 Facts About Olaus Murie

Rather than conducting empirical experiments, Murie practiced a more observational-based science.

Olaus Murie focused his research on the North American continent by conducting vast studies throughout Canada, Alaska and Wyoming.

Olaus Murie employed many of these same skills as he travelled to Alaska and finally to Wyoming.

Olaus Murie used these ideas to improve current wildlife management practices.

Olaus Murie served as president of The Wilderness Society, The Wildlife Society, and as director of the Izaak Walton League.

Olaus Murie was born on March 1,1889, in Moorhead, Minnesota, the child of Norwegian immigrants.

Olaus Murie studied biology at Fargo College, private liberal arts college of the Congregational Church.

Olaus Murie began his career as an Oregon State conservation officer and participated in scientific explorations of Hudson Bay and Labrador, financed by the Carnegie Museum.

Olaus Murie joined the US Bureau of Biological Survey 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.

Olaus Murie married Margaret Thomas in 1924 in Anvik, Alaska.

Olaus Murie authored six other major publications, including Alaska-Yukon Caribou ; Food Habits of the Coyote in Jackson Hole, Wyoming ; Field Guide to Animal Tracks ; Fauna of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula ; and Jackson Hole with a Naturalist.

Olaus Murie was responsible for collecting bird, rodent and larger mammal specimens, as well as sketching and taking photographs of different organisms and environments.

Olaus Murie decided to stay an extra winter in Canada to gain more experience, despite the departure of his colleagues.

Olaus Murie used this additional time to collect more animal samples as well as explore the ecological and cultural similarities and differences of the Hudsonian and Arctic life zones.

Two years later, Olaus Murie returned to Canada with Clyde Todd, Alfred Marshall, a wealthy businessman, and guides Paul Commanda, Philip St Onge and Charles Volant.

In 1920, following his work in Canada, Olaus Murie accepted a position working for the US Biological Survey in Alaska, studying the caribou in Alaska to locate the largest caribou populations, with the intention of crossbreeding them with reindeer.

Olaus Murie was expected to collect specimens of various animals, and act as a Fur Warden by enforcing laws that protected animals against illegal fur trade practices.

Olaus Murie was encouraged to ensure large caribou populations in the region.

However, the more Olaus Murie studied caribou populations, the more he opposed this idea.

Olaus Murie saw that hunting by humans was counter to trends produced by nature, and counteracted Darwin's survival of the fittest.

Olaus Murie believed the true cause of a reduction in elk populations was not wolves, but rather human economic drive.

Olaus Murie observed that elk, along with other wild species, needed ample land to survive.

Besides allowing Olaus Murie to formulate his own ideas towards conservation, his time in Alaska gave him additional experience working in the field and resulted in more recognition for him in the realm of field biology.

In 1927, after his time in Alaska, Olaus Murie was hired by the National Elk Commission to determine the cause of the elk winterkill problem in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Olaus Murie was one of the first to discover that these elk historically resided in the mountains and not solely in the plains thus contributing to overcrowding.

In 1937, Olaus Murie accepted a council seat on the recently created Wilderness Society.

Olaus Murie helped to enlarge existing national park boundaries and to create additional new units.

Olaus Murie greatly opposed this measure, believing that it would actually reduce the value and appreciation of nature by making it so available and convenient for people.

Once the park was established in 1943, Olaus Murie was appointed as the head of the Wildlife Management Division of the National Park Service and was in charge of creating a management plan for the monument.

Olaus Murie maintained that the park had biological significance with countless species of birds and mammals that lived within the park.

Olaus Murie relied on techniques that stressed the economic value of national preservation sites because he knew this was the most effective way to appeal to America's public.

Olaus Murie would go on to advocate for the preservation of many additional parks from human development.

Olaus Murie believed that those who wished to "seek the solitude of the primitive forest" should have the ability to do so and that a democratic society should protect this right.

In 1956, Olaus Murie began a campaign with his wife to protect what is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In 1948, Olaus Murie became the first American Fulbright Scholar in New Zealand and conducted research in the Fiordland National Park.

Olaus Murie was a president of the Wildlife Society and a director of the Izaak Walton League.

Olaus Murie received the Aldo Leopold Memorial Award Medal in 1952, the Pugsley Medal in 1953, the Audubon Medal in 1959, and the Sierra Club John Muir Award in 1962.