AUGUSTA, Maine — Bill Williams, former chief ranger for the Maine Forest Service, has been named deputy director of the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine, a new position for the 37-year-old nonprofit organization.
Williams brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the association, according to Board President Rich Merk, who said Williams will work closely with Executive Director Tom Doak.
Williams, a native of Greenville, began his work in forestry and forest management as a high school and college student, working seasonally as a campsite ranger on Moosehead Lake. He was later assigned to the Maine Forest Service Greenville and Dover-Foxcroft offices, and moved to Aroostook County in 1996, where he was promoted to district ranger.
In 2002, he was named chief ranger in Augusta, a post he held until his retirement in 2011. Williams is a third-generation forest ranger, after his father, Earle S. Williams, also a chief ranger, and his grandfather, Waylan Williams.
Merk said administrative tasks, project management and overseeing the association land trust will be assigned to Williams, while Doak will expand efforts on new projects, public outreach and legislative lobbying.
Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry from the University of Maine at Fort Kent and Doak is a licensed forester.
Now all we need is a law keeping people off private property without written permission same for the wandering wardens.
Congratulations to Bill. He will be excellent in anything he does.
Maybe he will have a different view of landowners being allowed to hunt on their own property on Sundays. Any attempts to allow only the landowner to hunt only on their own property on Sundays has resulted in the Small Woodlot Owners threatening to shut off all access to their property. This would not affect the public or SWO in any way, since it is private property. The public seems to assume that they would be allowed to recreate on this private property on Sundays with the no Sunday hunting law in place, which is not the case.
There is plenty of public land (which landowners also pay taxes on) for people to recreate on, and plenty of non-hunter private property owners who allow recreation on their land. All this would do is allow the person who worked to purchase their own property, and pays taxes on it, to use it as they wish.
My property and the property on either side of mine, totaling over 500 acres was posted last year as a result of the State not even entertaining a change in the law to allow the landowners to hunt their property on Sunday. This was a result of strong arm ultimatums by the Small Woodlot Owners. So now over 500 acres that was previously available to people is closed 365 days per year. Snowmobile and ATV trails have been shut off and hikers, cross country skiers, etc., are no longer allowed. We can play the SWO game too.