UMAINE • March 9, 2023
Conservationist and author Ken Olson has donated his professional papers to Fogler Library at the University of Maine, complementing materials the state’s largest library holds relating to the environment, resource conservation and policy. Olson is a 1968 graduate of the university. He began his charitable work in 1971, becoming, at age 24, the youngest person to run the Appalachian Mountain Club’s combined Hut System, Pinkham Notch Camp and Saco River campgrounds, and direct its White Mountain search and rescue operations. He later was appointed publisher and editor-in-chief of AMC books, maps and magazines. In 2006, Olson retired from a 30-year career that included 20 years as chief executive at three nonprofits: The Nature Conservancy of Connecticut, American Rivers and Friends of Acadia.