[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 156 (Friday, October 31, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2197-E2198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO MARDY MURIE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 30, 2003

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Margaret ``Mardy'' Murie, one of America's true heroines.
  Born in Seattle, Washington in 1902 and reared in Fairbanks, Alaska 
when it was truly the western frontier, Mardy and her husband, Olaus, 
were instrumental in the development of the American conservation and 
land protection movement. Her passing on October 19 at

[[Page E2198]]

102 years old marks the departure of one of this country's most 
impassioned conservation leaders.
  From her early upbringing in Alaska, Mardy gained a deep respect and 
love of the region's vast rugged terrain--its unspoiled lands and its 
remarkable wildlife.
  As the first woman graduate of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, 
she became a tireless advocate for the protection of Alaska as a 
national treasure. She once said, ``When I was a child, Alaska seemed 
too vast and wild ever to be changed, but now we are coming to realize 
how vulnerable this land is. I hope we have the sensitivity to protect 
Alaska's wilderness . . .''
  Upon graduation in 1924, Mardy married naturalist Olaus Murie and 
together they formed a partnership to not only protect this spectacular 
land, but other parts of the remaining American wilderness.
  As an author and a lifelong activist, she inspired her husband, her 
family and her fellow citizens to build an entire conservation 
movement. For decades, the Murie family traveled the Alaskan 
wilderness, and once established in Wyoming, where Olaus served with 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, they studied the biology of both 
regions--its mossy tundra, its streams, grassy sloughs, its elk, coyote 
and moose, and its wilderness.
  While her children were growing up, Mardy became an active community 
member, serving on the school board, campaigning for education and the 
local library and promoting activities for local youth. In World War 
II, she grew a victory garden and managed a dude ranch.
  In 1944, the Muries moved to Moose, Wyoming, where their home would 
become a center of the wilderness movement. Following Olaus' retirement 
from federal service, he accepted the directorship of the Wilderness 
Society, later to serve as its president.
  Through her wilderness experiences with Olaus, Mardy became a fierce 
advocate for the protection of the Brooks Range in Alaska. She authored 
a book, Two in the Far North, which chronicled their summer-long 
adventure to this Alaskan region and inspired countless others to visit 
the Arctic area and fight for its protection.

  Their dedication and effort paid off in 1960, when the Arctic 
National Wildlife Range--later renamed a National Wildlife Refuge--was 
created.
  In 1964, the Muries and many other conservationists won another major 
victory when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into 
law. Working for the National Park Service, the Sierra Club, the 
Wilderness Society and the Izaac Walton League at various times in her 
historic career, Mardy explored additional areas in Alaska and other 
parts of the country to determine their suitability for wilderness 
designation.
  These continuing efforts helped achieve enactment of the Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980, when President Jimmy 
Carter signed into law the bill that my father had sponsored in the 
House of Representatives.
  Mardy Murie was the recipient of numerous prestigious awards honoring 
her outstanding environmental work. She was awarded the Audubon Medal 
in 1980, the John Muir Award in 1983, the Robert Marshall Conservation 
Award in 1986, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from her alma 
mater, the University of Alaska. As she neared her 100th birthday in 
2002, Mardy was honored with the J.N. Ding Darling Conservationist of 
the Year Award, the National Wildlife Federation's highest tribute.
  In 1998, President Clinton awarded Mardy the Presidential Medal of 
Freedom, our country's highest civilian award. At the event presenting 
her this distinction, President Clinton said ``For Mardy Murie, 
wilderness is personal. She and her husband, Olaus, spent their 
honeymoon on a 550-mile dogsled expedition through the Brooks Mountain 
Range of Alaska. Fitting for a couple whose love for each other was 
matched only by their love of nature.''
  Margaret Mardy Murie was a national treasure. As a pioneer of the 
American conservation movement, she was and will continue to be an 
inspiration to us all. Her commitment to this country's wilderness 
sites will be a lasting legacy to the beauty of this nation and the 
importance and value of preserving our wild landscapes. May her spirit 
and inspiration live on in all of us for decades to come.

                          ____________________