The trip that Olaus and Mardy Murie made in 1956 to the Sheenjek River at Lost and Lobo Lakes in the foothills of the Brooks Range was the catalyst that started the conservation movement in Alaska. Olaus Murie, a naturalist and wildlife biologist well known for his work in Alaska, dreamed of protecting a large area of the Arctic that extended from the Arctic Ocean, across the Brooks Range, and down into the boreal forest on the opposite side. After their trip, Murie proposed the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to protect an ecosystem large enough to support the great Porcupine River caribou herd and other large populations of wildlife. Hunter met the Muries on one of their trips through Fairbanks. "We really supported very strongly what they were trying to do. Olaus Murie went home and drew lines on the map and we started fighting for setting aside the area," said Hunter.