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Orange A. Olsen photograph collection

 Collection
Identifier: P1299

Scope and Contents

The Orange A. Olsen photograph collection consists of 1 box containing 7 black and white photographs and negatives from the manuscript of Olsen's 1945 study of elk populations and nature conservation, Elk Below!.

Dates

  • 1930-1945

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Orange A. Olsen photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.

Biographical Note

Orange A. Olsen was born October 10, 1890 with a twin named Henning. Both were named after their grandfathers, Utah pioneers Orange Seely and Henning Olsen. Their parents Abenadi and Hannah Seely Olsen raised them on a farm. Olsen attended three years of high school in the Emery Stake Academy and, from 1910 to 1912, served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints LDS mission in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Afterwards, he worked as a clerk in the Castle Dale Cooperative store (2 years), then as a bookkeeper for the Consolidated Wagon and Machine Company. He married Aileen Brown of Salt Lake City in 1915 and took a correspondence course in law.

Olsen began work with the Forest Service in November 1917 as a clerk in the Manti Supervisor’s Office in Ephraim. He was the Mammoth District Ranger (near Fairview) on the Manti from 1918 until 1922 when he became deputy forest supervisor. His next appointments were as forest supervisor of the Lemhi (1922-23), La Sal (1923-26), and Dixie (1926-31) national forests. In 1931, Olsen transferred to Region 4’s regional office in Ogden, Utah to head up the wildlife division. In order to regulate big game hunting and fishing activities in his region, he began conducting the annual wildlife census via aircraft. In 1945 he wrote Elk Below!, a book about nature conservation. He was considered a pioneer in developing this new technique of the big game census. Orange Olsen died in 1945 in an airplane crash while conducting an aerial count of elk in the Bridger National Forest.

Extent

0.209 Linear Feet (1 box) : 7 items

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Orange A. Olsen (1890-1945) was a Forest Service Ranger who pioneered aerial tracking of big game populations. This collection contains photographs from the manuscript of Olsen's 1945 study of elk populations and nature conservation, Elk Below!.

Arrangement

Arranged by subject

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Carole Gardner in 2006.

Separated Materials

See also the Orange A. Olsen papers (ACCN 2313) in the Manuscripts Division and the Orange A. Olsen Audio Visual Collection (A0912) in the Audiovisual Division of Special Collections.

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections staff.
Title
Guide to the Orange A. Olsen photograph collection
Author
Finding aid created by Claire A. Kempa
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid encoded in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863