Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
Hart landowner wins Outstanding Forest Steward Award

OWENSBORO, Ky. (July 18, 2006) - A Hart County landowner who has been a strong advocate of proper forest management today received the Outstanding Forest Steward Award from the Kentucky Division of Forestry.

Charlie Williams, of Munfordville, received the award in Owensboro at the Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts annual meeting.

Williams owns 1,107 acres in Hart County, of which 800 acres is forestland. He dates his interest in proper forest management to Christmas Day 1958, when he inherited his first 80 acres.

Williams began actively managing his land in 1963. His operation was certified as a tree farm in 1971 and as a Stewardship Forest in 1996. Over the years, Williams has conducted several timber harvests, planted over 23 acres of trees and performed timber stand improvement operations.

Williams carefully selects loggers willing to work for the good of the forest. He reserves some lumber from timber harvests for donation to local building projects, including Munfordville Elementary School.

To spread the word about proper forest management, Williams has published articles and advertised services available from the Division of Forestry on a radio program he hosted. As an attorney, he worked to reform Kentucky law to make it mandatory for loggers to give advance notice to adjoining landowners when timber is to be harvested.

Williams helped establish a tree board in Munfordville and is involved in reestablishing trees along Union Street in Munfordville, which was damaged by a tornado in 2005. In addition to the Outstanding Forest Steward Award, he received the 2005 Tom Wallace Farm Forestry Award, sponsored by The Courier-Journal.