William (Bill Finch – Sierra Rec

William J. “Bill” Finch is a Lecturer of Leisure Studies Emeritus faculty who retired from the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Sacramento State University (CSUS) in 2004. He taught classes in Outdoor Recreation Education, Adventure Recreation Programming, Commercial Recreation, and Lifestyle Development.

After retirement, he continued to teach at the CSUS College of Continuing Education for two years. There his curriculum focused on enabling older adults to enjoy hiking the Sierra Nevada with an emphasis on Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe.

For the past sixteen summer seasons since retirement, he has been a Desolation Wilderness Volunteer for the U.S. Forest Service. As a volunteer, he is an ambassador for the Forest Service providing information to hikers along the trails in the wilderness backcountry and assistance as may be needed. He has participated in Wilderness Outreach presentations sponsored by the Forest Service and conducted research for wilderness related projects.

He also presented community service Power Point lectures on the wonders of Desolation Wilderness through the years. Prior to his career in teaching, Bill served in two branches of the armed forces. He was an Army paratrooper in the 82 nd Airborne Division for three years before attending college. After which, he served as a Naval Flight Officer in ASW Patrol Aviation with assignments in the Western Pacific from Viet Nam to the Arctic Circle.

Today his emphasis continues to be on enjoyably experiencing the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and helping others do the same through volunteering and writing.