Murie, Margaret (1902–2003)
Murie, Margaret (1902–2003)
American conservationist and author. Name variations: Mardy Murie. Pronunciation: MYUR-ee. Born Margaret Elizabeth Thomas, Aug 18, 1902, in Seattle, Washington; died Oct 19, 2003, in Moose, Wyoming; was the 1st woman to graduate from University of Alaska; m. Olaus Murie (biologist and longtime director and president of the Wilderness Society), 1924; children: Martin Murie, Donald Murie, and Joanne Murie Miller.
Grew up in a log cabin in Alaska; with husband, moved to Wyoming to study elk migrations (1930s); with husband, helped preserve millions of acres in Alaska and throughout US by encouraging the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (1962) and passage of the Wilderness Act (1964); wrote Island Between (1977) and (with husband) Wapiti Wilderness (1966). Her Wyoming Home, Murie Ranch, was declared a National Historic District (1997). Received the Audubon Medal (1980), John Muir Award (1983), and Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton (1998).
See also autobiography, Two in the Far North (1962).