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Steward of the Week: Mark Olson
By FishRecycler | November 8, 2011
Mark Olson was born in Chicago, but moved to Nebraska when he was young. Not the typical geography for a young fly fisherman, but Mark learned to fly fish when he was just eight years old at the hand of his uncle.
He used a Paul Young Parabolic at that time, but Mark was always scared he would break the rod. One day, his uncle took the rod, slammed it to the ground and said, “See. You can’t break it.” Since that epiphany, Mark lost his fear of breaking his fly rod and became a skilled caster, even at this young age.
“Today, as somewhat of an homage to my uncle,” he shares, “I fish a Paul Young Parabolic taper made by Tim Zietek.”
Several years ago, when his kids were off to college, Mark decided to use his skill and passion for fly fishing and began seeking out volunteer opportunities. About this time, he discovered Recycled Fish, a national non-profit organization made up of anglers practicing and encouraging stewardship “on and off the water.” He was completely unfamiliar with Recycled Fish and what the mission was, but he was curious, and reached out to learn more.
“I had always been interested in a holistic approach to conservation,” he said.
Today, Mark volunteers his time every week to write and edit the weekly “Stewardship Tips” column for Recycled Fish. When he began, a couple hundred anglers were subscribed to Stewardship Tips. Today, nearly 5,000 people receive his tip by email and thousands more get it through Twitter, Facebook, the Recycled Fish website and affiliate sites.
Mark has a unique background that includes proficiency on the highland and uilleann bagpipes. He studied with Seamus McNeill and competed at highland games on the East Coast, California and Colorado, winning several medals.
“That’s always somewhat of a shock to most people,” he explains, “with a surname of Olson, people think Swedish or Norwegian. My ancestors, though, were mostly Irish and Scots, and somewhat of a motley crew, I might add.”
This hobby was put on the back burner when Mark started a family. “The bagpipes, being a fairly non-subtle instrument, were not really compatible with raising a family. It wasn’t really possible to fire them up when the kids were taking their naps.” Maybe someday, he adds, he’ll pick them up again.
When Mark was in college, his mentor had him read and discuss The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and he shared with me a passage he believes captures the reasons that we are stewards:
For all is like an ocean, all is flowing and blending; a touch in one place sets up movement at the other end of the earth. It may be senseless to beg forgiveness of the birds, but birds would be happier at your side — a little happier, anyway — and children and all animals, if you were nobler than you are now. It’s all like an ocean, I tell you.
“I think that it is important that we, as stewards, act in a seemly manner. I think that it is important that people see how we are acting. Actions speak loudly. It is important that, when we fish, we act respectfully to the resource with which we have been blessed.”
“It is important to explore the spiritual relationship that we have with nature,” Mark explains, and he encourages others to do what they can to help our fisheries. Using less paper, recycling, conserving gas, conserving electricity, using fewer plastic bags, every little bit helps.”
I asked Mark, if others were interested in following his example, where they could go, what they could do. He said, “Recycled Fish is a good place to start.” If you would like to learn more about Mark, fly fishing, and stewardship, sign up for his weekly Stewardship Tips through Recycled Fish. And follow his blog, Verdigre Creek Journal.
In spite of an aggressive work-travel schedule that carries him around the globe, Mark never misses a week in volunteering to write his Stewardship Tips column.
“We may not know it, but someone may be watching what we do when we fish.”
He takes this responsibility seriously. We all should.
- Josh Milczski
Topics: Recycled Fish, Steward of the Week | Comments Off
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