Speaker on Sigurd Olson

Date: March 24, 2011
Contact: Jean Van Tatenhove, 320-629-2148

 National Park Service Announces Speaker on Sigurd Olson

Interested in learning more about the St. Croix Valley's national park? Join the National Park Service in exploring the heritage, natural wonders, and communities of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway during this year's Riverway Speaker Series. The series continues on Saturday, March 26, with a program focused on Sigurd Olson.

Saturday, March 26, 10:00 a.m.
Wildness in the Soul: Sigurd Olson and the Canoe

Presented by Alan Craig, Curator, Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum

Sigurd Olson (1899-1982) was an author, environmentalist, and advocate for the protection of wilderness. He grew up in northern Wisconsin, where he developed his lifelong interest in the outdoors, and then spent more than 30 years as teacher, guide, and writer near the Boundary Waters. During his life he served as president of the National Parks Association and the Wilderness Society and worked tirelessly for the protection of wilderness. His books include The Singing Wilderness, Listening Point, and Reflections from the North Country.

For Olson, travel through wild lands, nearly always in a canoe, allowed for a deeply spiritual connection to wild places. It was this connection which compelled Olson to fight to preserve these wild places, and inspire others to do the same. This presentation will explore Olson's relationship with the canoe and northern travel, and the tangible results of this relationship that we are lucky to enjoy today.

Save the Date for This Upcoming Presentation

Saturday, April 9, 10:00 a.m.
Monitoring Bald Eagle Chicks for the Health of the Riverway
Bill Route, National Park Service, Ecologist

Also on April 9:

University of Minnesota Raptor Center Live Bald Eagle and Bird Display, 11:00 to 1:00

Junior Ranger Program: Life of Riverway Bald Eagles, 1:00

All presentations are free and open to the public. They will take place at the St. Croix River Visitor Center, 401 North Hamilton Street, in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin.

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, a unit of the National Park System was established by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968; it is one of a group of eight rivers in the country which first received this recognition. For 255 miles, the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers flow through some of the most scenic and least developed country in the Upper Midwest.

For additional information call [phone].