Home / A New Bearing

In a film interview recorded a few years before his death in 1982, Sigurd Olson walks through a towering stand of pines, the sun dappling the shoulders of his red flannel shirt. He stops and reaches out to hold the branches of a white pine sapling. "A great many people-young people-come to me," he says. "And they ask me: ‘what is your hope for the world?' And I always answer that the hope for the future is in you. You are the new generation. I am the old generation. Just like this little tree here." Olson goes on to charge the next generation with carrying on the battle to preserve our wild and beautiful places; with "keeping the flame alive." "The whole world depends on you," he says. "The whole world depends on this little pine, in a sense. Just as, at one time, it depended on these enormous trees here." It's a poignant moment. A wise elder standing in his beloved North Country, aware that his time is drawing to a close. He is passing the torch. In many ways, this charge to the next generation is the driving notion behind the work of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College.

We are here to serve the conservation needs of the region, to protect and preserve the world-class resources that make the Lake Superior region wild and beautiful and unique. But we are also here to ensure that the next generation of conservationists have the skills they need to be effective. We are here to help pass the torch.

With that same sense of hope and torch-passing that Sigurd expressed, I returned to the SOEI as its executive director at summer's end. I am excited to be returning to this position and the Northland College community after a 20 year absence. These past two decades have been active and fulfilling years for me-earning a doctorate degree in human dimensions of natural resources with an emphasis on wildlands and land protection, and serving two national conservation organizations as an advocate for national parks and habitat restoration for wildlife.

I look forward to bringing the perspective I've gained to this place, to sharing my experience with students and charting the Institute's path ahead.

As we take our new bearings, the Institute will be working hand-in-hand with our students and a variety of other dedicated partners to enhance environmental integrity in the North Country in three critical areas:

"Woods & Waters" - forests, lakes and rivers are iconic resources of the North Country. We re-affirm our tremendous educational outreach efforts on behalf of Lake Superior through the Binational Forum and Chequamegon Bay Area Partnership. We also will initiate a new program working with citizens of key watersheds to rehabilitate lands and improve water quality.

"Wildlife" - northern habitats provide sustenance for a variety of emblematic wildlife not commonly found elsewhere in the Midwest - wolves, moose, bobcat, pine martin, fishers, and a variety of northern bird species. Our 34-year-old LoonWatch program works to protect common loons and their habitats through education, monitoring, and research. We will expand our programming to provide added leadership to protect these species and gain a greater public understanding of their needs.

"Wildness" - protected places and spaces are found in the north unlike any other. Even their names fire our imaginations: Boundary Waters, Apostle Islands, Pictured Rocks, Isle Royale. They are inexorably intertwined with the words and legacy of Sigurd Olson. We will serve as a guardian of these special landscapes, keep fresh the words and philosophy of Sig Olson to address today's challenges, and highlight the northern explorations of modern day voyageurs who inspire us all.

I thank you for your past support of this Institute's unique niche and stewardship mission. You have helped us to keep the flame Sigurd talked about burning brightly. I will keep you informed on our success, and don't hesitate to contact me with your suggestions.

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