There are two things wrong with this assumption. First, we can really only assume that the fluff is the way it is because EGG wanted the fluff to be that way. If he had wanted the mechanics to adhere more closely to the fluff, we can only assume he would have so emended them. It is incorrect to assume authorial intent for the Ranger's design can be gleaned from that one sentence. Second, EGG didn't write the 1E Ranger. You might say he converted or adapted it. If you compare it to Joe Fischer's Ranger in The Strategic Review, #2 it is, mechanically speaking, nearly identical. The fluff text, however, is not present in Fischer's article, by which it is made obvious that the mechanics of the class were designed first, and that Gygax added the fluff as an afterthought.
I see the connection. My point was that having access to spells of any sort isn't the same as being skilled in woodcraft as a mundane woodsman is. I do recognize, however, that EGG's changing of the Ranger's cleric spells to druid spells and the addition of the flavor text mentioned above seem to be of a piece. My opinion is that Gygax made these changes to distinguish the 1E Ranger from the SR Ranger, possibly for IP reasons. He went even further in this direction with the requirement in UA that the Ranger start with the bow as one of its weapon proficiencies. His intention seems to have been to overlay the woodsman theme onto Fischer's template. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that in UA, while bringing the Ranger into further accord with the theme, Gygax also enlarged the giant class to include every humanoid that had been added to the game since the PH had come out.
