Margaret Thomas “Mardy” Murie (August 18, 1902 – October 19, 2003) was a naturalist, author, adventurer, and conservationist. Dubbed the “Grandmother of the Conservation Movement”^[1] by both the Sierra Club^[2] and the Wilderness Society,^[3] she helped in the passage of the Wilderness Act, and was instrumental in creating the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She was the recipient of the Audubon Medal, the John Muir Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor awarded by the United States.

W“Margaret Murie.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Murie. Accessed 10 Dec. 2021.

Margaret Murie’s Testimony before Congress

The Artic Refuge Turns 50

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on Gwich’in land. It consists of 19,286,722 acres (78,050.59 km²) in the Alaska North Slope region.^[1] It is the largest national wildlife refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is administered from offices in Fairbanks. ANWR includes a large variety of species of plants and animals, such as polar bears, grizzly bears, black bears, moose, caribou, wolves, eagles, lynx, wolverine, marten, beaver and migratory birds, which rely on the refuge.

“Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_National_Wildlife_Refuge. Accessed 12 Dec. 2021.

Links:

• Reed College Graduate: Mardy Murie ’23 fought to create the Arctic National Wildlife Range
• Margaret Murie Biography
• Two in the Far North