Murie, Olaus Johan, 1889-1963

Biologist and field naturalist Olaus Johan Murie (1889-1963), the son of Norwegian immigrants, was born and raised in Moorhead, Minnesota. On completing his studies in zoology and wildlife biology at Oregon's Pacific University in 1912, he became an Oregon state conservation officer. In 1914-1917 he participated in scientific explorations of Hudson Bay and Labrador for the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh. He subsequently joined the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey as a wildlife biologist. He spent the years 1920-1926 in Alaska studying caribou populations and their migration routes. In 1927 the Biological Survey transferred him to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to study elk. Except for a two-year stint studying the Aleutian Islands in the Territory of Alaska (1936-1937), Murie spent the remainder of his Biological Survey career in the western United States. Upon resigning from the Biological Survey in 1945, he became director of the Wilderness Society. In that capacity, he championed national parks and the idea of perserving entire ecological systems, particularly the 8.9-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Range, which was established in 1960.

Olaus Johan Murie (1889-1963) was a field biologist with U.S. Biological Survey. He published A field guide to animal tracks, c1974.

Murie was born in Moorhead, Minnesota, the son of Norwegian immigrants. He graduated in 1912 from Pacific University in Oregon. After participating in scientific explorations of Hudson Bay and Labrador for the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh, he was hired by the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey as wildlife biologist. In 1945, Murie resigned his position with the Biological Survey and became director of the Wilderness Society.

Olaus Murie was nationally known as an outstanding naturalist, writer, artist and speaker. Born in Moorhead, Minnesota in 1889, He grew up exploring the Red River Valley with his two brothers. His college education began in North Dakota at Fargo College, majoring in biology. After one year his mentor, Professor Arthur M. Bean, left and started teaching at Pacific University. Murie followed in 1909 when Bean promised him a job as a paid assistant in the Biology Department. After graduation Murie worked as a field assistant and photographer for the first Oregon State Game Warden. In 1914 Murie accepted a position with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, exploring the Hudson Bay region in Canada. After his WWI Army service, Murie started his 26-year career with the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). In Alaska he studied caribou migration patterns and waterfowl populations. During his time in Alaska (1920-1927) he met and married his wife, Margaret. In 1927 he moved to Jackson, Wyoming, beginning his elk life-history research. During the late 1920s he also earned an M.S. degree from the University of Michigan. When his field career ended in 1946, Murie became the director of the Wilderness Society. He passed away at his Jackson home in 1963.

Olaus Murie exemplified and taught wilderness appreciation and preservation. He was a founding member of the Wilderness Society in Washington, D.C. He received many awards for his efforts in conservation and field work, chief among them was the "Outstanding Service in the Conservation of American Resources" presented by the American Forestry Association. In the fall of 1959 Murie returned to Pacific University to received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree during the University's centennial homecoming celebration. He visited again as a speaker for Homecoming, 1958: "Roosevelt Elk in the Olympic Rain Forest".