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| Soil scientist RICHARD (DICK) HALL worked for more than 50 years and mapped more than 1 million acres of soil as a Soil Scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Maryland and Delaware Richard Hall served in many different capacities as a Soil Scientist with NRCS, formerly known as the USDA Soil Conservation Service. He began his five-decade civil service career in 1950 as a Soil Scientist Trainee working in Maryland. The last year of his soils mapping work was in Delaware. Between Maryland and Delaware, Hall had mapped over one million acres. Between the two states he had held different positions within the agency from Soil Scientist Trainee to the State Soil Scientist in Delaware. His name is recognized in 8 soil survey manuscripts across Maryland and Delaware. After retiring as State Soil Scientist, Dick continued to work with the soils program both in Maryland and Delaware as a volunteer and as a consulting Soil Scientist. "He contributed immensely to the Maryland and Delaware programs as an advisor as well as a supporter for the modernization of soils information in both Maryland and Delaware," said Jim Brown. "Hall has always had a keen eye to recognize unique and different kinds of artifacts and relics on the landscape such as the oyster kitchen middens in Queen Anne's County and sulfphic exposure of sea shells and sharks teeth along the Potomac River." "He worked on a variety of projects that included an acid sulfate study where he assisting Ph.D. students in their research at the University of Maryland. He collected well water data from the early 1960's until 2002. The data has helped tremendously in our understanding of the Agricultural Drainage Class Interpretations." Hall also had a great interest in providing soils information to environmental education classes at middle schools and high schools. He played an instrumental role in establishing a nationally recognized program - The Envirothon. The Envirothon is an international environmental competition for teams of high school students that begins at local schools and continues through county, state, and international competitions. He was active in the American Society of Agronomists, Soil and Water Conservation Society, and was a charter member of the Mid-Atlantic Professional Soil Scientists Association. Richard Hall passed away after a long illness at his home on Oct. 16, 2003. Therefore, because of his outstanding contributions to soil science in Maryland and Delaware, we were pleased to posthumously elect Richard Hall to be an honorary member of this association. |
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