Ansel Franklin Hall


Ansel F. Hall was an American naturalist. He was the first Chief Naturalist and first Chief Forester of the United States National Park Service.

Early career

Hall was graduated in 1917 from the University of California with a degree in forestry. He joined the then-infant National Park Service as a ranger in Sequoia National Park. His Park Service career was then interrupted by military service in France during World War I.
From 1920 to 1923, Hall served as the first Park Naturalist of Yosemite National Park, where he established innovative interpretative programs, founded the Yosemite Museum Association, made geological models and native crafts, mounted natural history specimens, and edited the seminal Handbook of Yosemite National Park, published in 1921.

National service

Hall's energy and competence attracted attention in Washington and he was promoted to serve in the following posts:
In 1930, Hall co-wrote a report for an Oakland, California foundation which "...advocated a revolutionary new concept: a regional approach to park development, the creation of truly large, interconnected parklands that would define an urban landscape...", and which led directly to the establishment of the East Bay Regional Park District in the Oakland area
In 1933 - 1934, Hall led an expedition to the Rainbow Bridge - Monument Valley area, which produced thousands of valuable photographs of Indian life in the Four Corners area of that time.
Hall left the Park Service in 1938 to operate concessions in Mesa Verde National Park. Later he worked as a consultant in park design and interpretation and wrote books on the topic.

Publications

Hall, Ansel Franklin. Guide to Yosemite: A handbook of the trails and roads of Yosemite valley and the adjacent region
Hall, Ansel Franklin. Guide to Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park: A handbook of the northern section of Sequoia National Park and the adjacent Sierra Nevada
Hall, Ansel Franklin, editor. Handbook of Yosemite National Park: a compendium of articles on the Yosemite region by the leading scientific authorities LCCN 21014069. Library of Congress Call No. F 868.Y6 H18.
Hall, Ansel Franklin. "Mount Shasta" in Sierra Club Bulletin. 1926. Vol. 12. No. 3. pp. 250–67. Publications of the Sierra Club.
Hall, Ansel Franklin. Yosemite Valley: An intimate guide
Hall, Ansel Franklin. A Guide to Sequoia and General Grant National Parks
Hall, Ansel Franklin. General report on the Rainbow Bridge-Monument Valley Expedition of 1933
Hall, Ansel Franklin. A pictorial guide to Mesa Verde National Park
Hall, Ansel Franklin. Mesa Verde, a brief guide
Turner, Jack, author, and Hall, Ansel F, photographer. Early Images of the Southwest: The Lantern Slides of Ansel F. Hall.
Turner, Jack, author, and Hall, Ansel F, photographer. Landscapes On Glass: Lantern Slides For The Rainbow Bridge - Monument Valley Expedition With a foreword by President Bill Clinton.. 978-1-887805-31-5