William R. Meiners, 1921-1995, was a range management specialist and environmental activist. He was born June 6, 1920 in Pendleton, Oregon and was raised on an eastern Oregon wheat ranch. He attended Oregon State University and received a BS degree in Range and Range Livestock Management in 1947. He later attended Utah State University where he received a MS degree in Range Management in 1965. Meiners worked for the Soil Conservation Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management during his more than thirty years with the federal government. He retired in 1972, started a resource planning firm and devoted more time to environmental advocacy.

Meiners was a major influence in the establishment of Idaho’s Birds of Prey Natural Area and the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. He was instrumental in requiring Bureau of Land Management environmental impact statements for all grazing allotments. He worked on a comprehensive plan for growth with the Ada Council of Governments in 1972. Meiners was selected as a delegate to the United States Desertification Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, 1977. Meiners was a member and officer of many conservation organizations including Idaho Wildlife Federation, Ada County Fish and Game League, Idaho Nature Conservancy and the Golden Eagle Chapter of the National Audubon Society. He was honored as 1975 Conservationist of the Year by the Idaho Wildlife Federation and received among other awards an American Motors Conservation Award in 1976. Additional biographical material is in Box 1, Folder 1.