The Harley D. Nygren Oral History, dated 2001 and 2009, contains audio recordings, administrative information, and transcripts of the interview between Harley D. Nygren and Brian Shoemaker of the American Polar Society conducted on November 1, 2001. This interview was a part of a series of polar oral histories sponsored by the American Polar Society and Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program, with funding from the National Science Foundation. Major topics discussed include Nygren's career as an officer in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, surveying expeditions in the polar regions, experiences in Antarctica as a part of the United States Antarctic Treaty Inspection team, and his role in the creation and administration of the Environmental Science Services Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.