Black and grizzly bears are roaming throughout the park--near roads, trails and in backcountry areas. Hikers and backcountry users are advised to travel in groups of three or more, make noise and carry bear spray. Visitors must stay 100 yards from bears.
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When you think of a Wild Place, what image comes to mind? For the Muries, they only had to look out their window or walk out their front door. Join us at the Murie Ranch National Historic Landmark to learn how two Murie families changed our perception of wilderness, wildlife and conservation.
The Murie Ranch is right in the middle of what Olaus Murie called the heart of American wilderness.
Brothers Olaus and Adolph along with their wives “Mardy” and Louise purchased the old STS Ranch in 1945. These rustic cabins started out as part of a homestead in the 1920s. Then became part of a dude ranch designed to entertain tourists looking for a cowboy experience. The Muries, transformed this ranch with its colorful past, into the place you see today. They made it a home base for wildlife research and spirited strategy sessions among conservation leaders working to preserve America's wild places.
In 2006, the Murie Ranch in Grand Teton National Park, became a National Historic Landmark, in recognition of the many contributions the Muries have made to wildlife and wilderness.
Just living simply on the land allowed the Muries to connect with nature and inspire their many visitors to work to preserve wild places.
“Let’s see how we can make a perfect valley. We would need mountains to begin with and then we would need some flat lands to show off the mountains. And certainly we would need some water running through, there would have to be a river, and on the side, at the feet of the mountains there would have to be lakes. All these things would go together to make a perfect valley.”
To experience this landscape that the Muries cherished, you can walk a half-mile from the Visitor Center at Moose to the Murie Ranch. See the natural surroundings that inspired their work and changed the way lands are protected and managed today. Experience one of the great stories of America’s wilderness and conservation movement. It's just a short walk through the woods.
Learn about the Muries' wilderness conservation legacy. The Murie Ranch became a basecamp for discussion and debate among conservation leaders striving to protect wilderness—a vital component of the American landscape.
In the 1940s, the Murie Ranch became a gathering place for conservation leaders seeking the protection of American wilderness. Olaus Murie directed the Wilderness Society for nearly 20 years and helped draft America's first Wilderness Act. He died just months before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark legislation.
While the Muries were working and living here they hosted many meetings and visitors that came to the Murie Ranch. Olaus Murie’s discussions with leading conservationists lead to the creation of the National Wilderness Preservation system and the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964.
“Dear Friends, We are writing from the Sheenjek Kupi from the Arctic wilderness of the Brooks Range. When you catch a glimpse of the beautiful country we are in at all times.”
“The caribou roam this country, through valleys, over mountains with a roaming freedom shared by no other creature.”
“More than any other animal, the caribou of the north land need space and freedom of movement. But if ever we are to preserve this species on the North American continent, it must be done in places like this.”
“Will we have the wisdom to cherish such places, to leave such parts of the earth in their natural state, to visit them humbly and with appreciation.”
“Our decisions are a measure of our growth. Sincerely, Olaus Murie.”
“Sincerely, Mardy Murie.”
After Olaus died in 1963, Mardy continued his work. She received numerous conservation awards throughout her life and was widely recognized as an activist for protecting American wilderness. At the signing of the Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act, President Jimmy Carter personally commended her. In 1998, President Bill Clinton bestowed upon her the Medal of Freedom the highest civilian honor awarded by the United States. Mardy’s warm personality gave others the confidence to speak about wild places.
For the Muries, their ranch in Grand Teton National Park embodied the spirit of wild places. The Ranch witnessed the early stages and coming-of-age of the wilderness movement. In 2006, the ranch was designated a National Historic Landmark, recognizing its role in the wilderness movement. What would America be like without the protection of wild places?
Pioneering wildlife biologists, Olaus and Adolph Murie’s scientific work forever changed the field of ecology. Adolph’s groundbreaking work helped move science toward holistic management of ecosystems instead of the management of individual species.
The Murie brothers, Olaus and Adolph, were scientists who started out as wildlife biologists. Olaus was a biologist starting in the early part of the 20th century and he began with the caribou study in Alaska. They started out at a time when the field of ecology was evolving and so in the beginning they were just doing simple studies of animals which evolved into holistic studies of the whole ecosystem that these animals were part of....
Olaus and his wife, Mardy, moved to Jackson Hole in 1927. Olaus came to study the famous Jackson Hole elk herd. During his research, he saw how human settlements were carving up the land. The new developments threatened to overtake the elk's winter ranges and block the routes they use to move between summer and winter habitat. Realizing that the future of this impressive herd depended on protecting their entire range, Olaus lobbied Congress to expand Grand Teton National Park. The park now encompasses part of the Jackson Hole valley where the elk still migrate today.
Like his brother, Adolph also did pioneering research.
Before Adolph Murie's study of predators in national parks, the way wildlife was managed in national parks was to eradicate predators and to focus on the animals favored by people viewing them.
Wildlife managers killed predators to protect prey species that visitors liked to see like deer and antelope. But Adolph's research showed that predators had an important role to play in nature. After completing a study of coyotes in Yellowstone National Park in 1937, he condemned the routine practice of killing coyotes in the park.
Adolph Murie’s studies of predators, particularly coyotes and wolves, significantly changed the way animals were managed in national parks and in fact all public lands.
The brothers realized the importance of sharing what they learned with the public. They wrote books, stories and scientific articles based on their research.
Olaus Murie wrote a guide to animal tracks it’s a Peterson Field Guide that is still used today… it’s still in print. Adolph Murie wrote books and even his wolf study in Alaska was written in such a way that it appealed to the general public.
In 2006, the Murie Ranch became a National Historic Landmark, recognizing the significant contributions the Muries have made to wildlife and wilderness.
The studies that the brothers did significantly showed that you can't just focus on one species, it has to be the whole inter-relationship of all living things.
Learn about how the Murie families inspired others. Through science, art and writing, the Muries captured and personified the spirit of wilderness. They inspired those who visited the Murie Ranch to become advocates for protecting wild places.
The Murie family personified the spirit of wilderness through science, the arts and storytelling, inspiring generations to become advocates for wild places. Olaus was a gifted artist, drawing and painting the wildlife he studied. Olaus and Adoph’s books, stories and scientific articles about their wildlife research in Alaska and Wyoming appealed to many. Also a gifted storyteller, Mardy wrote about her life’s journey. For their many contributions, the Murie Ranch in Grand Teton National Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.
There’s a feeling I have here when I’m out here on the ranch that there’s a presence, and I feel that it’s the presence of the Muries.
Adolph Murie said that he found inspiration from conversations that would take place at the Murie Ranch with leading conservationists of the day that would help inspire him to continue his wildlife studies.
The Muries influenced the course of the conservation movement in many ways. They began speaking about the value of wild places and extending human concern to all animal species early in the twentieth century when very few people were talking about it or writing about it. Starting as wildlife biologists, they went on to have an influence in the protection of wilderness areas and in better habitat for all wildlife.
Mardy Murie was this incredible woman who seemed to be able to relate to every single person. She was always humble about her involvement in any issues and that is part of her appeal. But, meanwhile she had a will of steal and she always spoke from the heart.
“We need wilderness for what it gives a man’s spirit, for the tolerance, understanding and peace it can give us. In all of this, rejoice in working together. There are few satisfactions as potent as those of working together for a cause you know is important and which you believe in.”
I think that the true spirit of this ranch and what will carry forward into the future is the place itself and also the knowledge of the work that the Muries did and the presence that they had here.
Did You Know?
Did you know that Jenny and Leigh Lakes are named for the fur trapper “Beaver” Dick Leigh and his wife Jenny (not pictured)? Beaver Dick and Jenny assisted the Hayden party that explored the region in 1872. This couple impressed the explorers to the extent that they named the lakes in their honor.
