John Williams, Wallowa County OSU Extension Natural Resources Agent since 1993, was honored with a national award this summer at a gathering of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in Charleston, S.C.

Williams, who received the Distinguished Service Award, was nominated by the Oregon Agricultural Extension Association, as the Oregon recipient.

Williams and his wife, Eileen, attended the national conference along with nine others from Oregon. Williams has been an Extension Agent in Oregon for more than 25 years, most of those in Wallowa County.

During his tenure in Wallowa County, Williams has worked with community leaders and agricultural producers on policy issues that had significant impact on the local economy and the ability of natural resource users to access the resources in Northeast Oregon.

Williams has aided the county in implementing its own Wallowa County Nez Perce Tribe Salmon Habitat Recovery Plan, which has served as a model.

He was also credited with helping the state of Oregon in understanding regulations dealing with confined animal feeding operations; and Eastern Oregon in learning to deal with the impacts of wolves, as they moved in from the experimental population introduced into Idaho.