Fire Ecology Portal

Northern Arizona University School of Forestry seeks to fill one PhD position funded through a Teaching Assistantship. This position will focus on spatial patterns of wildfire disturbance related to forest dynamics, post-fire recovery, and biodiversity conservation in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. The PhD student will participate in and conduct investigations to quantify impacts of fire severity, fire frequency (e.g., short interval repeat fires), time since fire, and patch size and isolationon forest structure, composition, and regeneration dynamics.

The position start date is Fall 2021.

We are looking to support a PhD student (stipend, tuition, health coverage) to work on a NSF project, Managing Future Risk of Increasing Simultaneous Megafires starting as early as summer 2021. This project will involve colleagues at the University of Washington and National Center for Atmospheric Research with expertise in climate science, public policy, and fire ecology. Elements of this work are to understand biophysical influences on fire activity at different scales, particularly related to widespread lightning-ignited fires, and develop convergent approaches for understanding how the confluence of fire suppression and land management approaches can ameliorate future synchronous large fires.

A one-year postdoctoral position, with the possibility of extension for an additional year depending on performance evaluation and funding, is available to join an interdisciplinary research teaching effort focused on Cross-Scale Fire Ecophysiology.

The University of Idaho is hiring a full-time, post-doctoral researcher (based in Missoula, MT) to investigate linkages between wildland fire behavior and resulting ecological effects at micro- to macro- biological scales. The goal is to utilize these linkages for improvements to computational fluid dynamic fire models. The post-doctoral researcher will primarily investigate factors influencing thermal tolerance of plant tissue to heating associated with wildland fire. The position is a collaboration between the University of Idaho, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, and Los Alamos National Laboratory to conduct research on thermal tolerance and dose-dependent responses of plants and aerosolized microbiota that can be incorporated into computational fluid dynamics models to predict fire effects across pedosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere boundaries.

Evaluation of applicants began on December 7, 2020, and will continue until the position is filled.

The Restoration Technician is a staff member of the Stewardship and Field Programs Department (SAF) of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Florida Chapter. SAF is responsible for implementing and managing field conservation work (e.g., wildland fire management, invasive species control, habitat restoration, etc) across Florida and stewardship of the Florida Chapter’s network of preserves. The preserves are part of TNC’s Center for Conservation Initiatives (CCI).

The Restoration Technician performs land management and restoration activities in the longleaf pine community and embedded isolated wetlands. They remove exotic species, and conduct rare species monitoring, assist in forestry field data collection, assist with restoration contract management and oversight, and participate in prescribed fire program. They will assist with fleet, equipment and tool maintenance. The Restoration Technician will maintain records using a database or PC.

Applications will be reviewed in the order they’re received and the position will remain open until filled.

Spatial Informatics Group - Natural Assets Laboratory (SIG-NAL) seeks a Wildfire and Landscape Resilience Program Manager to coordinate and support the implementation of a new Regional Wildfire Mitigation Program (RWMP) in the south coast region of Santa Barbara County, California. The successful candidate will have expertise in wildfire recovery and preparedness planning, as well as landscape ecology, to develop a coordinated ecological restoration and fire-safe buffer and “greening” project for wildfire resilience across the region’s wildland-urban interface. The applicant selected will work closely with numerous organizations and wildfire experts, providing advisory services to land managers, scientists, community groups and nonprofits, state and local agencies for this progressive and collaborative program.

Application Deadline: Applications will be continuously reviewed until a suitable candidate is identified. Interviews will be on a rolling basis.

The Sequoia-Kings Canyon Field Station (USGS) is currently searching for people interested in summer 2021 Biological Science Technician positions in Forest Ecology.

Duties: Collect field data for long term forest research projects in Sequoia and Yosemite NPs. Measure forest demographics, including mapping and measuring trees and determining cause of death. Collect fuels data. Gain knowledge and experience in ecological research, identifying Sierran trees, forest pathology, and mapping trees. Up to 10 positions will be filled. Positions are full-time, start in approximately mid-May, and will last about 4-5 months.

The Nature Conservancy in WA (TNC) and the Okanogan Land Trust (OLT) are looking to recruit a Student Conservation Association (SCA) member with a love of working outside, and willingness to take on multiple kinds of tasks (indoors and out), to support our conservation goals in North Central Washington. North Central WA encompasses a landscape of ponderosa pine forests, sagebrush steppe, salmon-supporting streams and rugged highlands. TNC stewards the Barker Mountain Preserve here, and OLT works with landowners and residents to protect natural areas throughout the region. This position will conduct field stewardship work at Barker Mountain Preserve in coordination with TNC staff and assist with a wide range of tasks for Okanogan Land Trust, who will serve as the local hosts for this internship.

Expected Dates: April 5, 2021 to September 19, 2021

This position will be based in the town of Okanogan but travel throughout the area for field work and community outreach.

As part of advancing Stanford University’s IDEAL vision and commitment to diversity (broadly defined) among its faculty, students, and staff, the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University (Stanford Earth) has established the Stanford Earth Postdoctoral Fellows program. This fellowship will support two outstanding scholars in the fields of Earth, energy, and environmental sciences, as well as other emerging fields in this area, whose research and mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students will contribute to diversity, equity, inclusion and scientific excellence within the school.

Applications will be considered beginning on December 11, 2020. Candidates are strongly encouraged to submit complete applications by that date for full consideration; however, applications will continue to be accepted until the fellowship positions are filled.

The Stanford University School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth) seeks candidates for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. Consistent with Stanford University’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEAL) vision and commitment to diversity (broadly defined) among its faculty, students, and staff, we especially seek to attract applications from promising scholars with historically underrepresented backgrounds in traditional STEM fields, as well as in emerging areas of Earth, Energy, and Environmental sciences, including research areas that intersect with societal issues. All four Stanford Earth departments are partnering in this search and a successful candidate will be appointed in one of the following:

Earth System Science - We study the world’s air, water, land, and life as an integrated system. As scientists, we unite basic and purpose-driven research to chronicle how the Earth functions, the many ways it is changing, and what the consequences of changes will be for people and other species. We believe that science can improve the world by enabling us to understand, predict, and solve the pressing issues of global environmental change.

Energy Resources Engineering - We train future leaders in the science and engineering of Earth's energy resources. We combine theory, experiments, and computation to understand and influence the global energy resources landscape. We are committed to leading the way to provide the people, methods, and tools for sustainable management of the Earth's energy resources.  

Geological Sciences - We study the properties of minerals, rocks, soils, sediments and water, using multiple lenses -- stratigraphy, paleobiology, geochemistry, and planetary sciences. Their work informs our understanding of natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and floods. It helps us meet natural resource challenges through environmental and geological engineering, mapping and land use planning, surface and groundwater management, and the exploration and sustainable extraction of energy and minerals. It also helps us answer fundamental questions about the origin, history, and habitability of planets.

Geophysics - We study Earth and planetary processes through laboratory experiments, computational and theoretical modeling, remote imaging, and direct observation. At Stanford, our teaching and research focus on understanding systems critical to the future of civilization. We apply expertise to fundamental research sustaining life on Earth, combining underlying science with studies of Earth’s environment and resource needs.

The Directorate Fellows Program (DFP) is a Direct Hire Authority Program that includes an 11-week Fellowship project for current students at the rising senior undergraduate or graduate school level. Upon successful completion of the Fellowship program, along with degree conferral, participants may be directly appointed without competition to full time, permanent positions.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service goal is to promote and maintain a diverse and inclusive workforce that thrives in an environment accessible to all and free of employment discrimination. DFP provides an opportunity for interested students from all diverse backgrounds, including women, minorities, and other underrepresented populations to gain valuable experience leading to a career in conservation.

Program Details:

• 11-week paid summer position
• 1-week orientation at the FWS National Conservation Training Center
• Direct Hire Authority eligible after completing program requirements
• Many locations nationally
• Travel funding provided
• Housing may be available
• 100+ fellowship opportunities nationwide

The application deadline is January 15th, 2021. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and the application period may close before the deadline if a sufficient number of applications are received. Applicants are highly encouraged to apply early to ensure consideration.

Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR), an innovative North Bay conservation science and education organization, is hiring a full‐time Prescribed Fire Project Coordinator for Fire Forward. The Prescribed Fire Project Coordinator coordinates and conducts site visits with new partners to potential fuels treatment sites around the region, assessing feasibility of such partnerships and collaborations, and maintaining professional and collaborative relations with key partners. The Coordinator reports the outcomes and findings of these visits and provides updates regarding relationship building to the team. They participate in assessment and mapping of burn units, support the drafting of burn plans and smoke management plans, and work closely with on-the-ground partners and landowners in the development of local collaborative efforts and implementation. The Coordinator works with the team to plan, prepare, monitor, and implement prescribed burns. The Coordinator represents Fire Forward and ACR in media, partner, collaborator, and volunteer community relations, and works with ACR staff and with partners from other agencies to plan potential work on ACR preserves and other lands.

The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, seeks applicants for five tenure-track positions at the level of Assistant Professor in the thematic area of restoring and protecting global biodiversity. The Faculty of Science, together with the Faculties of Arts, Forestry, and Land and Food Systems, is sponsoring this unique cluster hire, which builds on existing excellence in this area at UBC. These new hires will join an interdisciplinary research and scholarship team focused on solutions-oriented approaches to biodiversity loss, and its connection to sustainability and adaptive capacity for humanity. For further information see https://biodiversity.ubc.ca/cluster-hire

As part of the cluster, we seek a Conservation and Restoration Scientist to be jointly appointed in the Departments of Botany, and Forest & Conservation Sciences, with opportunities for strong interaction with UBC’s Beaty Biodiversity Museum and Biodiversity Research Centre. The Conservation and Restoration Scientist will conduct research broadly investigating how to conserve and protect biodiversity, and restore functioning ecosystems in a changing world. Applicants should have an interest in integrating fundamental research on restoring biodiversity, ecosystem functions or adaptive capacity, with applied research on conservation and restoration strategies that involve engagement with communities, industry or governments. Their expertise will be in ecology (including applied ecology), conservation, evolutionary biology, forestry, geography, or related disciplines. We encourage applicants who use a range of empirical or theoretical approaches, applying them to real-world problems from local to global scales, in terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems, and working in plant, animal or fungal systems.

On April 6, 2020, the Fire Management Board (FMB) established the Wildland Fire Medical and Public Health Advisory Team (MPHAT) to address medical and health-related issues specific to the interagency administration of mission critical wildland fire management functions under a COVID-19 modified operating posture.  The COVID-19 MPHAT is tasked with providing medical and public health expertise, advice, coordination, and collaboration with external subject matter experts and developing protocols and practices for all aspects of COVID-19 planning, prevention, and mitigation for wildland fire operations.  Guidance found on this page has been issued via FMB Memorandum. They may be updated as appropriate and necessary to respond to the evolving situations and work conditions surrounding COVID-19.

With multiple agencies/entities, groups and task forces all working to find solutions for operational concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the need for a space to share information is apparent. This forum serves as a platform to ask questions, as well as to share ideas, information, and solutions.