Udert W. Hella

Hella returned to Omaha in 1936 to become supervisor of the Minnesota Park, Parkway and Recreational Area Study which was a long range plan for the Minnesota state park system.  The financing of this study was transferred in 1937 to the state and Hella moved with the funding to become an employee of the state of Minnesota.  When the study was completed in 1938, he was hired as northern region supervisor for the state parks system which incorporated all facilities north of the Twin Cities, and he remained in that position until 1942 primarily supervising the work of CCC crews in state parks.

With the onset of World War II, Hella was identified as a “war essential project engineer” and left state parks to work for Northwest Airlines.  After the war, he held a variety of positions outside the parks field, including one as general manager of production and corporate secretary of Kol Inc. of St. Paul which manufactured tubular steel and sheet metal products.  It was from that position that Hella was recruited to become director of state parks in 1953.

Hella’s appointment marked the beginning of a new era for Minnesota’s state parks.   Immediately after accepting the position, he toured the park system and was appalled at the deterioration that he found at the 62 areas comprising of 82,000 acres.  This deterioration reflected the unavoidable curtailment of funds for parks during the World War II era.  He later recalled: 

Through my mind passes a weary and seemingly endless procession of unpainted buildings, rotting steps, leaking roofs, bulging camp grounds, new areas being ruined due to lack of planning.  Much of the havoc is not apparent to the casual visitor, but a closer inspection will bring it to light.

To begin to address these problems, he persuaded the legislature to impose a one dollar fee per year for each automobile entering a park and designate those funds to the operation and maintenance of the parks.

During Hella’s 20 years as director, the state park system realized many of the goals that were set in the plan he supervised in the 1930s.  The state park system grew rapidly.  He was known for his strong sense of ethics and remained as director through several changes in governors from both parties.  By the time he retired in 1973 as director of the Division of Parks and Recreation Hella had served under six commissioners of the Department of Natural Resources. 

In the first ten years of his leadership, the state park system doubled its acreage to 160,000 acres as thirteen new state parks were established and substantial increases added to some previously established parks.  The first decade of Hella’s tenure from 1953 to 1962 was known as “A Time of Change” in which the Minnesota state parks system grew both quantitatively and qualitatively.  For many people, these were relatively prosperous years, and one way for families to spend their increased disposable income was to visit state parks, so there was increased public pressure to improve and expand the park system. 

Perhaps the most significant feature of his administration was his effectiveness in arousing and organizing the public and civic interest groups to support the state park system.  This support was key to the success of his expansion effort.  He founded the Minnesota Council of State Parks whose membership was comprised of distinguished business and professional leaders from around the state who were instrumental in influencing legislation and raising the money to buy land for future parks.  As individuals they commanded the attention of governors and the legislature.  This support was key to Hella’s success in passing the Minnesota Outdoor Recreation Resources Act in 1963 which provided $54 million for a 10 year program of acquisitions and development of recreational resources for the state. 

This was perhaps the most important piece of legislation in the history of the Minnesota state parks system.  It authorized and funded the acquisition of an additional fourteen state parks.  The legislation closely followed requests and recommendations made by Hella, and was actively promoted by the influential members of the Minnesota Council of State Parks.  Soon after its passage, the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund passed in 1965, and it provided a new source of funding for state parks which reinforced the impact of the state’s Outdoor Recreation Act. 

Hella played a prominent role in the preservation of the St. Croix Riverway and its ultimate designation by the NPS as a wild and scenic river.  The state park system first obtained a lease of 7,000 acres bordering 12 miles of the upper river in 1943 from the Northern States Power Company and this area became St. Croix State Park.  The company had acquired the lands within the river valley in the 1800s with the intention of developing a series of hydroelectric plants in the valley.  When fossil fuels emerged as a more viable option for power generation, the company had no operational need to retain this land.  The company expressed an interest in 1962 in working with Minnesota and Wisconsin to determine how its lands could be the best conserved, and the passing of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1965 provided momentum to develop a plan and program for the restoration and long-range preservation of the St. Croix with which Hella was centrally involved.  The planning commission created trail systems on both sides of the river; implemented programs of land acquisition and transfers; ensured protective zoning; and implemented the state legislation needed to bring the project to function in 1968.   

Hella was a primary instigator of the movement to establish Voyageurs National Park.  Earlier studies had suggested a national park be established in the area, but it was only after Hella became state parks director that the project moved forward with purpose.  He undertook a survey of the proposed park area on foot with Dr. Breckenridge, a noted biology professor at the University of Minnesota, and another member of the Council of State Parks.  In 1958, he brought together all the state and federal land agencies that would be impacted by establishment of the national park, secured their support for the project, and persuaded the National Park Service to produce a plan.  Hella was aware there would be fierce local opposition to the federal government taking responsibility for the area.  Hence, throughout the process, Hella remained in the background out of public gaze so he would not be exposed to conflict of interest charges with his role as the chief steward of Minnesota’s state park lands, some of which would be included in the new park.  Hella effectively organized highly influential leaders in Minnesota into a formidable support group to counter the opposition. 

The NPS director was Conrad Wirth who was a native of Minneapolis and a good friend of Hella.  Their personal relationship was important in facilitating the collaboration needed to bring the project to fruition.  It was a long process, but Hella and the support group were tenacious and persistent.  The state’s governor, over 1,400 organizations, and thousands of individuals lobbied for the park.  The first bill to establish Voyageurs was filed in 1969, it was signed into law in 1971, and the park opened in 1975.  

Hella’s passion and perspective relating to state parks emerged in his communications to fellow professionals: 

We who are in the business of managing parks feel a deep sense of gratitude to those of the past and present whose foresight and wisdom successfully implemented the preservation of choice and significant bits of our history, and our natural landscape as the rightful heritage of all men.

We also feel a deep sense of responsibility that these areas be so managed that the “countless numbers who are still unborn” may realize the same benefits as do we, the “few who are living” that they might profit, as do we, from the scientific values of natural areas and find them islands of solitude and refuge from the noise, confusion and speed inherent to our civilization.

His contributions from his work with the CCC, his role in creating Voyageurs National Park, and his long and effective tenure as director resulted in Hella’s influence on state and national parks in Minnesota being greater than that of any other individual.

Back to Previous Page