The Listening Point Foundation will soon undertake an important change. Our Executive Director, Alanna Dore, has served LPF for the last twelve years and has seen our organization grow and prosper as it fulfills its mission to further Sig’s legacy of wilderness education. Under Alanna’s able management, we have seen the Listening Point Foundation develop its programs, increase its membership, and […]

by Doug Wood As I write these words from our old 1930’s cabin in the Pine Point woods, change is in the air. The basswoods have long since dropped their leaves. The maples have passed their brightest brilliance and the last of the foliage they hold will not last the advancing cold front. The tamaracks still hold forth in […]

By Douglas Wood, president of the LPF On February 23, 1977, a young college student named David Backes—struggling, feeling lost and adrift and about to drop out of school—wrote a letter to an author and conservationist named Sigurd F. Olson.  He expressed his despondence and confusion to a man who, for some reason, he thought […]

by Phil Voxland, one of the LPF’s tour guides and a writer among our readers guest author: We all know this quote from Sig Olson: “Everyone has a listening point somewhere. It does not have to be in the north or close to the wilderness, but someplace of quiet where the universe can be contemplated with […]

Quote from Sig:  The Foundation’s “year of the young” was inspired by the following quote from Sig that he shared on “The Wilderness World of Sigurd Olson” dvd: ——————————————————————————————– Sig’s words regarding the “young” of the world. (From the Wilderness world of Sigurd Olson) Young people come to me and they asked me “What is your […]

Opening By Kevin Proescholdt.  The Immortals of Argo by Sig Olson When most people think of Sigurd Olson and his guiding of wilderness canoe trips, they usually think that the people he guided were all adult men. But this was not always the case. Sig had an interest in introducing young people to the wilderness as […]

The  writer In Sigs cabin There’s a pipe stand with three or four of his. Maps on the walls, and doggerel shaped books watch me from shelves as my fingers inch towards His old keys. The chair feels right. Desk a little low for my taste, but the pipe stem has me in its grasp […]

By Kevin Proescholdt – Last year, 2016, marked the centennial of the formation of the National Park Service. The heightened awareness of the National Park Service surrounding this anniversary has triggered a fresh interest in the national parks that this agency manages. Of particular interest to those with an interest in Sigurd F. Olson is the […]

by Douglas Wood, president of the LPF – Places can be marvelous things. Strange things. Fragile things. Sometimes a place is just that—a place to put your keys, hang a picture, park your car. A place to go to work or go out to eat. But sometimes places are a little bit more. Some- times […]

By Steffi O’Brien Page 5 of the Fall 2016 Newsletter “A little step may be the beginning of a great journey.” —Unknown And so it has been. My little step just happened to occur inside Sigurd Olson’s Writing Shack on August 3, 2015. Upon entering the Shack for the first time, my eyes swept over […]

By Kevin Proescholdt This year, 2016, marks the centennial of the establishment of the National Park Service. Though national parks had existed since Yellowstone in 1872, it was not until 1916 that Congress passed the law creating the National Park Service. Sigurd Olson played important roles both in the national parks and the agency created […]

By David Backes Published in the Summer 2016 LPF Newsletter, page 7 Excerpts from Sigurd’s writings have been published in a variety of languages, including Russian and Arabic, but a Chinese company is the first to publish a complete translation of one of Sigurd’s books. SDX Joint Publishing Co. in Beijing has published a Chinese […]

Editor’s note: In the following article, written in 1996, Sig’s son Robert recalls details of the Olson family home in Ely. This home, recently purchased by the Listening Point Foundation, now provides many opportunities for the Foundation to advance Sig’s legacy of wilderness education. Sig and Elizabeth moved from the Rapson House on Harvey St. up to the new house on the […]

Thirty-five years ago this fall, on October 21, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act (Public Law 95-495). This new law ended a rancorous three-year fight in Congress over the future of the BWCAW, provided important new wilderness protections for the canoe country, and settled once and for […]

Marking the 50th Anniversary of the passing of the Wilderness Act (September 3, 1964).  Read this informative story on MPR and listen to the live interviews.

A decade and a half ago Bob and Vonnie Olson and some of their bighearted friends dreamed and worked the Listening Point Foundation into existence. That founding group included Chuck Wick (still Vice President of the Foundation today) Dave Peterson, Milt Stenlund, Sigurd T. Olson, Dave Zentner, David Backes, and Randy Pachal. It was their vision that as […]

By Sigurd F. Olson published in Naturalist, 1967 The Value of Wilderness The wilderness canoe country is northern Minnesota’s greatest recreational asset. Outside of its beauty, uniqueness, historical significance and fishing, it has a quality that other lake and forest areas do not possess, its primitive character. This is the magnet that draws people, the fact that here alone in […]

  You can help preserve this historical site! The passage of time and the weathering effects of the elements are taking their toll on the Listening Point structures. In 2009 Sig’s cedar dock needed to be replaced. Last year we restored the cabin’s iconic stone steps and a section of the fireplace hearth. In addition, the entire […]

by Sigurd F. Olson One day in the Far North we fought a gale on Black Bear Lake of the Churchill River in Saskatchewan. It was a glorious sunny day and along the muskegs the air was alive with the screaming of gulls and terns, a day that made up for the drenching storms, treacherous rapids, and portages we […]

This article was published in the Summer 2008 Listening Point Foundation newsletter. By Kevin Proescholdt It’s official: Listening Point, the land and cabin on Burntside Lake near Ely that provided respite and inspiration for conservationist and author Sigurd F. Olson, has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. “We are delighted by this official recognition of the importance of both Sigurd Olson […]

I’m sure we all wonder how Sig would respond to a major event like the Pagami Creek forest fire. Back in the 1970s, Bud Heinselman was finishing up on his monumental fire history research in the BWCAW. He and Sig collaborated often then because of the upcomign 1978 legislation. Bud, undoubtedly, would not pass up an opportunity to discuss his work […]

Isn’t it interesting that the original work of Bud Heinselman and Sig Olson lives on today? Their passion to understand the boreal forest and promote wilderness values is stimulating new studies with new technology. Bud and Sig were brothers in this search for knowledge. They both made huge contributions to their respective fields. But perhaps more importantly, they both knew intimately the intangible values […]

The following short article by Sigurd Olson marked his first piece published in any of the scientific journals. It was published more as what we might now call a “Note” in one of the scientific journals rather than as a full article with citations and footnotes. Nonetheless, Sig’s article documented an unusual biological phenomenon based […]