Botany and wildlife management
Fell earned a botany degree at Illinois in 1938 and a master’s in wildlife management at Michigan in 1940. Early employment included teaching, public-health laboratory work and soil conservation.
He also participated in ecological organizations, focusing on securing natural areas rather than only describing losses of plants and animals.
References: [1]
An organization able to acquire land
Fell became vice president of the Ecologists Union in 1949 and helped with its reorganization and incorporation as The Nature Conservancy. He served as executive director from 1953 to 1958.
Fell and colleagues broadened membership beyond scientists and advanced purchase as a protection tool, connecting advocacy with finance, property and local cooperation.
Conservation institutions in Illinois
Returning to Rockford in 1958, Fell established the Natural Land Institute. In the early 1960s he helped advance legislation concerning conservation districts and the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission.
He subsequently served as the commission’s secretary and executive secretary, supporting continuing administration beyond individual acquisitions.
References: [1]
Inventory as a basis for protection
The Natural Land Institute undertook an Illinois natural-areas inventory in 1975–1978 and compiled endangered-species information. Surveys identified specific places, communities and organisms for conservation.
Fell’s papers preserve minutes, maps, reports and correspondence, documenting the research and administrative work accompanying public mobilization.
References: [1]