Reuniting Finley and Bohlman

About William and Irene Finley and Herman T. Bohlman

William Lovell Finley trained as a biologist at the University of California-Berkeley and shared an early passion for birds with his childhood friend Herman T. Bohlman. Together, they developed an artistic knack for bird photography that provided an important body of scientific evidence. Backed by their keen observations and ability to communicate effectively with both policymakers and the public, they had a dramatic influence upon local and national conservation viewpoints and policies.

Finley and Bohlman’s activism, along with that of other Oregon bird lovers, led to the passage of the Model Bird Act of 1903 and the formation of the Oregon Audubon Society (now the Audubon Society of Portland). Their images also played a key role in President Theodore Roosevelt’s decision to declare Three Arch Rocks, Klamath, and Malheur as special wildlife reservations. William Finley worked for the state of Oregon for eight years, serving as Oregon fish and game commissioner, state game warden, and state biologist. Finley’s wife, Irene, also took an active role after their marriage in 1906, working as his field partner. The two worked together on several nature films and published a large body of books and articles on ornithology, wildlife, and conservation.

OrgLot369-Finley-A427

Collection Notes

The digital objects in this collection are the result of a yearlong partnership between the Oregon Historical Society Research Library and the Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center to digitize the Finley and Bohlman photograph and manuscript collections held by our libraries. Now reunited online, the materials represent over fifty years (1899-1946) of work to document and protect the diversity of bird life in Oregon.

Species names and descriptions are drawn from original metadata and may not reflect currently accepted naming conventions or terms. The Reuniting Finley and Bohlman Collection pulls materials from several preexisting OSU and OHS collections.

These collections include:


This project was supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State Library.

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More About the Project

2016 Oregon LSTA Project of the Year

Following a recommendation by the State Library of Oregon’s LSTA Advisory Council, the State Library Board voted unanimously to award Reuniting Finley and Bohlman the LSTA Project of the Year award.

Public Programs

In the spirit of Finley’s legacy of public lecture programs, OHS took to the road in the spring of 2017 to celebrate the conclusion of the Reuniting Finley and Bohlman project. OHS hosted events in locations significant to Finley and Bohlman’s work throughout the state accompanied by tours of the wildlife refuges their work helped to establish. The recording of the Portland, Oregon program features a guest panel with Bob Sallinger, Tom McAllister, and Worth Mathewson.