September 1950 (age 51)

Not much to report. Ely residents flew to Washington with a petition to rescind the airplane ban over the canoe country wilderness, but received little support. Meanwhile, Sigurd was heckled at a meeting of the Northwestern Ontario Chambers of Commerce in Port Arthur, hammering home to him the lesson that Americans could not spearhead the battle for wilderness preservation on the Canadian side of the border. The Quetico-Superior movement needed strong Canadian leadership in Ontario.

September 1965 (age 66)

Sigurd spoke at a National Park Service superintendents' conference at Great Smoky Mountain National Park in the middle of the month, and the latter part of the month he was in Washington. In between he worked in Ely, and organized a canoe trip of Ontario businessmen to help educate them about the importance of preserving the canoe country. Sigurd's friend and conservationist Charley Woodbury, aware of all the demands on Olson's time, called Sigurd's schedule "insane." Sigurd responded:

I have cut out a lot of lectures and trips and am going to cut out more. It is very difficult to say no to everything. For instance I was called last night and asked if I could come down for a big meeting on Indiana Dunes, a cause I have fought for a long time. I could not say no for this is the most crucial time. And what applies to the Dunes applies to many other places.