George LeRoy Collins was born May 31, 1903 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended school in California and became a National Park ranger in 1930. In 1950, Collins began work on the Alaska Recreational Survey for the National Park Service. During this period Collins came to realize the value of the area that is now the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area that remained of interest for Collins for the rest of his professional life. Collins retired from the park Service in 1960 and helped to establish Conservation Associates, based out of San Francisco, where much of his work focused on establishing a wildlife refuge in Canada contiguous with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Arctic International Wildlife Range Society, established in 1970, was born from these efforts. Collins retired from his professional life in 1978, but remained actively involved with conservation issues.
From the description of George L. Collins Papers, 1932-1992. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 309445563
