Charlie “Strike Force” Williams is a veteran soil scientist and recently retired from the NRCS after more than 44 years of service! Despite being retired, there’s still a lot of work ahead that keeps Charlie going. On today’s show, Charlie talks about the Keep It In The Family program to help African American landowners retain their land and utilize it so that it is not a burden, but an amazing blessing that generates an income. Charlie provides some excellent resources today for natural resource professionals looking to help out in this field.
Key Takeaways:
[1:40] A message from Leadership Nature.
[2:25] A quick intro about Charlie’s background.
[4:40] How did Charlie get started in natural resources?
[8:10] How does Arkansas’s terrain differ from other states?
[11:45] What were some of Charlie’s first jobs like?
[13:45] How did the Keep It In The Family program get started?
[20:30] Research showed that owning land was more of a burden than a blessing for African American landowners due to having pay taxes on the land they didn’t know how to use.
[22:30] How do African Americans lose their land?
[26:15] Charlie shares what he has learned so far about developing trust with landowners.
[32:20] How do landowners find Charlie and use his services?
[35:55] Charlie offers advice to other professionals in the forest and natural resources community on how they can help.
[40:00] Where can landowners go for resources and to get help?
[43:40] How has the situation improved for African American landowners?
Mentioned in This Episode:
Website for the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities: Usendowment.org
More information on the SFLR Program: Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program (SFLR)
More information on USDA NRCS: Nrcs.usda.gov
More information on the Alabama Forestry Association: alaforestry.org