Personal papers of former park ranger Lee Coleman, including correspondence pertaining to firearms, shooting, hunting, and personal matters; notes; materials related to his NPS employment and retirement; and ephemera related to hunting and target shooting. A box of index cards is included, with addresses of friends, NPS staff, gun enthusiasts, and Indian contacts. There are also subject cards detailing his reading and hunting, including firearm, ammunition, and animal specifications. There are also a few photographs.

Lee Lambert Coleman was born September, 28, 1903, in Forsyth, Wyoming. He worked on the trail crew in the Medicine Bow National Forest in 1929. The following year, he graduated with a degree in animal husbandry from the University of Wyoming and passed the civil service entrance exam. Lee was appointed to his first park ranger position in 1931, stationed at the Gallatin Ranger Station of Yellowstone National Park. He subsequently worked throughout the park, including the ranger stations at Snake River, West Yellowstone, Cooke, Thorofare, Lake, Antelope Creek, Buffalo Corral, Hellroaring, West Thumb, and the Soda Butte District as well as the headquarters in Mammoth. He was promoted to district ranger in 1938, and worked in Canyon, Bechler, Snake River, Lamar, Tower Falls, and West Yellowstone Districts, finishing his career in Mammoth Hot Springs. In his regular duties, Lee was a law enforcement and investigative officer, and supervised entrance stations. He also worked as a firefighter, fire crew boss, and supervised summer season park rangers and a trail crew. Lee served as a coordinator on the elk and bison reduction programs as well as a bighorn sheep study. Lee?s interests ranged from Yellowstone?s history, exploration, and archeology to hunting, firearms, and wildlife. He kept records of his reading, employment, and hunting, including detailed information pertaining to the guns and ammunition used in wildlife reduction, wildlife population and distribution, and historic weaponry. He was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. Lee married Phyllis Samson in 1939. She was the niece of C.A. Hamilton, who operated the Hamilton Stores concession in Yellowstone. The Coleman?s had two children: Michael and Gail. Lee retired from the National Park Service on April 17, 1961. Upon retirement, he and Phyllis moved from Gardiner, Montana, to Billings, Montana. Lee Coleman passed away in May 1978 in Billings, Montana.