Editor’s Note: Author Joe Whitson recently spoke on the Paddle and Portage Podcast about a new way of thinking about wilderness. There are traditionalists who believe the Sigurd Olson approach to wilderness is through recreation and marketed solitude. These are public lands for all to enjoy, is a common sentiment shared by many user groups who visit, promote, and vow to protect places like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This guest column is a nod to this concept.

MICHIGAN – My wilderness perspective was formed by the Boundary Waters, Isle Royale National Park, and Sigurd Olson. People are well aware of the connection between Olson and the Boundary Waters, but the iconic writer also had an eye on Isle Royale.

Oslon, a.k.a. “Sig,” was a resident of Ely, Minnesota, and is much loved for his writings and his advocacy for wilderness. He was one of several people in the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s who was fighting to permanently protect the wilderness character of some special places in the United States. We owe much to the perseverance and hard work of Sigurd, and many other individuals and groups. Because of their work, President Lyndon Johnson signed The Wilderness Act in 1964. The Wilderness Act is a linchpin for all of us that love wilderness, and the BWCA was one of the very first places that would carry the distinction of being a designated wilderness by the federal government. The Wilderness Act was important, but for the BWCA to be included in 1964, some exceptions were granted that would have negatively impacted its wilderness character. Those exceptions were largely removed in a second bill, The Boundary Waters Wilderness Act of 1978. It was not easy for some of the public to accept either of these acts, and it was especially contentious in Sig’s home town of Ely. Olson was hanged in effigy, in Ely, as he gave testimony in support of the 1978 bill.