PCSWCD 2024 Cooperator of Year Award William London and Son

Description

Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District

to Honor Billy London and William W. London and Son as the 2024 Outstanding Cooperator of the Year!

Join us on October 9th for the celebration, which will include light refreshments, networking, a field tour and award ceremony!

Each year, the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) recognizes and honors a Cooperator (land manager) in Piscataquis County who has implemented exceptional conservation practices. This award offers a chance to both honor producers who invest time and energy into natural resource conservation and showcase their projects and outstanding on-the ground conservation efforts and overall excellence in sustainable management of the land. 

This year, PCSWCD will be honoring Billy London and William London and Son, Inc as our 2024 Outstanding Cooperator of the Year. William London and Son, located in Milo, ME was established in 1980 when Billy bought out his father, who had started the business in the 50’s after securing a county road plowing contract. Billy found himself working for Maine DOT for a number of years while maintaining his county contracts and expanded the business into excavation. His work on county roads in Katahdin Iron Works (KI) led to him securing contracts with Prentiss & Carlisle, Wagner, Huber, Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and American Forest Management. He built and has maintained an incredible number of the woods roads in Piscataquis County and beyond. Over the years, William W. London and Son, expanded in size and in 2016, the Londons created a second company, W.W. London & Son Trucking, LLC, which is run by Billy’s son, Alex. Shortly after, Alex’s wife Molly joined the company as a forester, creating W.W. London Woodlot Management Co., which added logging and forestry in 2017. The London’s now operate three separate companies, have 16 employees who live in the Milo area and when asked what makes the company special and their business model successful, the credit is always given to the employees. The London’s have been fortunate to be able to hire experienced and adaptable workers that are cut out for the unique work in the North Maine woods. “The expertise between all the long standing employees will be irreplaceable over time,” Molly London explained. Molly shared that “Billy’s company's road building abilities, expertise, efficiency and cost-effectiveness are unmatched in the industry.” The London's pride themselves on maintaining high standards and their work on stream restoration projects and bridge construction on AMC land has set the standard for others. Billy’s company has performed road and bridge work in addition to other jobs for AMC for a long time. “His work bridging stream crossings, which allow for fish passage, has become a model for others to follow,” says Steve Tatko, Vice President of Land, Research and Trails. “AMC has had a long working relationship with Billy London and his crew on AMC property and lands that AMC manages. Throughout AMC's ownership history in Piscataquis County, Billy has helped construct 128 water crossings on AMC owned and managed lands. His work has largely contributed to the fish passage restoration efforts that AMC has undergone in the past decade. William London and Son has masterly crafted many crossings on AMC ownership that will last for decades to come. Billy London is most deserving of this award and recognition. His work can be seen throughout Piscataquis County.” 

William London and Son have helped with gravel roads for all-vehicle road access to PCSWCD’s Williamsburg Forest Outdoor Education classroom. They donated gravel for the project and completed the work in conjunction with IF&W Land Owner Relation program, Penobscot Indian Nation and KI Riders ATV club. They will also be working with PCSWCD this fall to grade the road, which will allow for safer access to Williamsburg forest and showcase best management practices. This work will also create parking lot upgrades for both parking areas at the community forest - work that is being supported by a Maine Community Foundation grant. William London and Son will also complete the road work for a Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant that PCSWCD submitted and hopes to have accepted, which will allow access from Williamsburg forest outdoor education classroom to AMC’s gravel bike road trail system, Katahdin Iron Works (KI) ATV system and ITS 110 Snowmobile Connector trail. 

Please join the PCSWCD to honor William London and Son for their conservation efforts on Wednesday, October 9th, when Billy and his family will be awarded as the PCSWCD 2024 Outstanding Cooperator of the Year. Starting at 9AM, Billy and family will showcase Bearbrook Bridge in Barnard that he installed on AMC’s newly acquired land. Special guests from Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS), Appalachian Mountain Club, and Dana Doran from Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast will speak about the specific best management practices William London and Son have implemented and the impact of their work in our region. The ceremony will be led by PCSWCD Board of Supervisors and staff and we look forward to honoring William London and Son for all the incredible work they are doing in Piscataquis County.