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Ira Spring

American environmentalist (1918–2003)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ6066258
Source-derived summary

Ira Spring (1918–2003) was an American photographer, author, mountaineer and hiking advocate. He was the photographer and co-author, with Harvey Manning and his brother Bob Spring, of the "100 Hikes" series of books published by The Mountaineers. He co-founded the trails advocacy and maintenance organization Washington Trails Association (WTA) along with fellow trails advocate Louise Marshall. In 1998 he published an autobiography entitled "An Ice Axe, a Camera, and a jar of Peanut Butter" detailing his long photographic career on several continents. In recognition of this work in conservation and wilderness-preservation, he was presented with the Roosevelt Conservation Award by President George H. W. Bush in 1992. Spring was born in Jamestown, New York with a twin, Bob, and grew up in Shelton, Washington. He was an army aerial photographer in World War II. He died on June 5, 2003, in Edmonds, Washington of prostate cancer.

References

Modie, Neil (2003-06-06). "Ira Spring dead at 84: Guide had a passion for wild places". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ira Spring” as american environmentalist (1918–2003). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1918, 2003, 1998, 1992—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1918-01-01. The account is most persuasive where Spring, American and environmentalist can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as american environmentalist (1918–2003). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6066258. VIAF identifies the subject as 8660274. The Library of Congress control number is n79045410. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1918, 2003, 1998 and 1992.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Ira Spring”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Ira Spring primary sources, Ira Spring archive and Spring research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ira Spring”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Ira Spring” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.