In alternate chapters, Olaus tells of his work as a field biologist for the old U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey and recounts stories of his studies of the elk and the other great animals of the West. And Mrs. Murie, from her side, describes their life together, on the trail, in the various camps, and nature adventures in that wilderness in all sea

Comprehensive synthesis of information organized under six main areas: the setting, legal basis for wilderness, management concepts and direction, important elements for management, wilderness use and its management, and problems and opportunities, all as they relate to the North American, principally U.S., scene.

An engaging blend of environmental theory and literary studies, Nature's State looks behind the myth of Alaska as America's "last frontier," a pristine and wild place on the fringes of our geographical imagination. Susan Kollin traces how this seemingly marginal space in American culture has in fact functioned to alleviate larger social anxieties about nature, ethnicity, and national identity. Kollin pays special attention to the ways in which concerns for the environment not only shaped understandings of Alaska, but also aided U.S. nation-building projects in the Far North from the late nineteenth century to the present era. Beginning in 1867, the year the United States purchased Alaska, a variety of literary and cultural texts helped position the region as a crucial staging ground for territorial struggles between native peoples, Russians, Canadians, and Americans. In showing how Alaska has functioned as a contested geography in the nation's spatial imagination, Kollin addresses writings by a wide range of figures, including early naturalists John Muir and Robert Marshall, contemporary nature writers Margaret Murie, John McPhee, and Barry Lopez, adventure writers Jack London and Jon Krakauer, and native authors Nora Dauenhauer, Robert Davis, and Mary TallMountain.

From her first glimpse of Alaska as a young girl, Margaret ""Mardy"" Murie has a special connection to the Northland. After her Yukon wedding to naturalist Olaus Murie, Mardy joined her husband for years of wilderness adventure, becoming his partner in lifetime of conversation efforts. For more than seventy years, Mardy Murie tireless championed the environment. Her work led to the founding of The Wilderness Society and the establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has been known for years as ""the mother of the conversation movementt,"" and recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Based on the critically acclaimed documentary film, ARTIC DANCE: THE MARDY MURIE STORY tells the story of one ordinary woman who accomplished extraordinary things. This remarkable biographic photo-essay features photos from Muries' personal collection, excerpts from her letters and journals, along with a concise essay detailing her life story.