"...That Glorious Wisconsin Wilderness"
An Unfolding Legacy

by Clayton T. Russell, Assistant Professor of Environmental and Outdoor Education, Environmental specialist, The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin wilderness legacy goes back thousands of years to its indigenous peoples who believed and continue to believe the land to be inspirited, and that human beings should be respectful and attentive to that spirit and the "more than human" life of the earth. It is, indeed, this spirit that transforms the solitude that we moderns seek in wilderness from the mere sense of isolation to the truer meaning of the soul awakening. It is this somehow enduring legacy that has inspired Wisconsin to become a national pioneer and leader in wilderness preservation and interpretation.

While Wisconsin today is not overly blessed with wilderness sites in The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) (we do have six), we are caretakers of a rich and yet unfolding wilderness legacy. John Muir, called a "publicizer" of the benefits of wilderness by Roderick Nash, had many significant childhood experiences in what he called "that glorious Wisconsin wilderness." Muir's boyhood experiences along with his time in the Sierra helped him to articulate an emerging American belief of wilderness, which sounded one of the opening bells for a reversal of 300 years of utilitarian consumption. Muir said it this way, "Thousands of tired, nerve shaken, over civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful ... as fountains of life."

Like Muir, Sigurd F. Olson had many formative wilderness experiences as a youth growing up in Wisconsin. It was here in Wisconsin that he heard the "Pipes of Pan" for the first time. This was when Olson first realized his love of and relationship with wild nature, "a knowing beyond intelligence," a moment of tapping into humankind's accumulated experience and ancient connection with the Earth. Olson revealed this deep knowing to countless people in articles, speeches and nine beautifully written books, extolling the values of wilderness. Olson's legacy of writing, teaching, research and advocacy makes him one of the most effective wilderness advocates ever.

While Aldo Leopold's childhood roots lie in Iowa, he brought his early experiences and love of nature to Wisconsin to teach and put into practice his land ethic on barren Wisconsin River flood plain. Leopold's land ethic, found in A Sand County Almanac, is a cornerstone in the establishment of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

The Wisconsin Wilderness legacy did not stop with the establishment of the NWPS. Shortly on the heels of the Wilderness Act came the companion National Trails Systems Act of 1968. The idea for a national trail system had begun in 1945 but it wasn't until Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson introduced legislation to protect America's Appalachian Trail that this issue caught the attention of President Johnson. Gaylord Nelson went on to create Earth Day and to dedicate his life to giving hundreds if not thousands of presentations on the value of a land ethic and the many tangible and intangible values of wilderness. Still a popular speaker in high demand, Gaylord Nelson currently serves as counselor to The Wilderness Society.

Broadening, passionate, provocative and inspirational discussions of wilderness and wilderness advocacy continue to originate in Wisconsin. William Cronan, the Frederick Jackson Turner Professor of History, Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, started such a discussion several years ago with his article, "The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature." While many joined the ensuing discussion, several Wisconsin notables took lead roles. Among them were University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Professor Baird Callicot, now at North Texas University and another "Pointer," Associate Professor Michael Nelson. Together they edited The Last Great Wilderness Debate. Nelson is currently compiling an anthology of Leopold's wilderness legacy. This spring, Nelson was in Leeds, England contributing to discussions on the possibility of wilderness in Britain. He also spoke at Northland College on "Leopold's Wilderness Legacy" and "Updating the Great New Wilderness Debate."

Wilderness literature and advocacy has also benefited from the Wisconsin biographers of Aldo Leopold and Sigurd F. Olson. Dr. Curt Meine wrote Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work and recently published The Essential Aldo Leopold, a well-organized collection of pithy Leopold quotes. Dr. David Backes of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee wrote A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson and will release a new collection of Olson's most influential wilderness writings this fall.

The Wisconsin wilderness legacy is well known and continues to grow. Dave Foreman, publisher of Wild Earth, and an honorary Wisconsinite by virtue of his many trips to the state, wondered aloud recently on the UW Madison campus about Wisconsin's long connection to wilderness. An enthusiastic wilderness lover in the front row shot right back, "It's the beer, Dave!" Whether it's the beer, the cheese, or in Muir's words "the glorious Wisconsin wilderness" our state's involvement with wilderness continues to unfold.

The Leopold Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin continues to promote Leopold land ethic programs, shack lectures and restoration activities. The Listening Point Foundation in Seeley, Wisconsin promotes the life and legacy of Sigurd F. Olson, as does The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute in Ashland, Wisconsin . The Institute serves as the environmental outreach arm of Northland College--the nation's leading environmental liberal arts school. Recently the Institute coordinated development of the Lakes Region Leave No Trace Guide, hosted a 3-day Wilderness Conference, actively promoted "Leave No Trace" and "Wilderness and Land Ethics" education programs, and, in honor of Olson's April birthday, convened a Wilderness Symposium, In Celebration of Wilderness Travel. The Institute also promotes Olson's legacy through an annual Nature Writing Award. Previous winners include: Jim dale Hout-Vickery, Kathleen Dean Moore, Wisconsinite Mike Van Stappen, and several others.

It's no secret that Wisconsinites are committed to wilderness and actively work to protect wild lands. Wisconsin boasts two national scenic trails, The North Country Trail and the Ice Age Trail. The Ice Age Trail when completed will be approximately 1200 miles in length entirely within Wisconsin borders. These are two of only eight national scenic trails. The Ice Age Trail is second only to the Appalachian Trail in length but has logged more volunteer work hours in its construction than all other national scenic trails combined.

Whatever Wisconsin's magic connection to wilderness may be, it continues to produce talented writers and hearty advocates. Northland College Alumnus David Oleson upon graduation headed north to Ely, MN and then on to Yellow Knife, Saskatchewan. It was in the far north were he put his education and his love of dogs together into two exciting and insightful books: Cold Nights Fast Trails: Reflections of a Modern Dog Musher and North to Reliance. Both volumes contain the "Olsonesque" wilderness reflection and medicine bag-type quotes.

Regarded as an eloquent voice for wilderness preservation, writer/professor Michael Frome has also felt the Wisconsin influence while serving as a scholar in residence at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute in the late 1980's. In his book Battle for Wilderness Frome notes, "Wilderness is one of the incomparable freedoms like freedom from want, war and racial prejudice and the freedom to cultivate one's own thoughts in one's own way." The important message in Frome's quote is to consider your freedoms, actions, choices, and responsibilities. Muir's writing supports Frome's when he said, "I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out until sundown, for going out I found, was really going in."

So go out, go in! Find your "spot of blue" as Olson suggests in the "Wilderness World of Sigurd Olson" video. "Without your spot of blue, you have no direction." We may never really understand the relationship between Wisconsin and so many great wilderness thinkers and advocates. But it is worth considering that a connection exists. I encourage you to find your connection to wilderness. Find your own "listening point" and then consider what kind of world you want and how you can work to achieve it. The unfolding wilderness legacy has room for you. Can you make room in your life for wilderness?