Born and raised in Iowa, I worked 10 years as a Forester with Black Hawk County Conservation Board before choosing self-employment as a Forestry Contractor, d/b/a Forest Improvement Services. Traveling from the upper Mississippi to the Missouri/Big Sioux Rivers in Iowa, I worked with private landowners to preserve their woodland for future generations - choosing to either plant and grow new a woodland, or renew the present woodland that had degraded. Starting with a timber management plan, this work entailed crop tree selection and release, sustainable logging, and/or tree planting. Throughout this career, I planted over two million tree seedlings in Iowa.
This vocational journey left me with a deep appreciation for the natural communities that once competed for possession of the territory. While conducting sustainable logging, I took a different look at tree forks that were rejected by lumber mills and discarded into waste piles, envisioning a way to preserve wood that was destined to be burned or rot in the woods. Knowing tree forks held intense character and beauty, I selected and salvaged discarded forks and began to
transform these into functional pieces for the home.
Upon retiring in 2016, I was able to start Natural Flats - where flats are "art with a purpose".
"Mother Nature is the artist providing the pattern, color and grain design. I work with each piece to create durable, beautiful and functional heirlooms for your home". Bill
In 2014, Bill was bestowed the Frudden Award by the Iowa Society of American Foresters for his significant contributions to the forestry profession over the course of his career. Bill and his wife, Wahneta, live in rural Janesville, Iowa, where they raised six daughters.