Fuels Portal

The Forest Stewards Guild Fire Management Program is hiring for new crewmembers to reduce wildfire risk in northern Colorado! The team is based out of Loveland, CO and will reduce wildfire risk by burning slash piles, thinning forests, and assisting partners on their prescribed fire projects. This is an entry level position and is an excellent opportunity for young people who want to build a career in wildland fire or who are interested in exploring wildland fire as a career.  

The squad is part of Gravitas Peak Prescribed Fire Module, a wildland fire resource dedicated to increasing the pace and scale of prescribed fire. Gravitas Peak is a highly adaptable resource comprised of multiple wildland engines, a fully self-sufficient 10-person module, and appropriate overhead and equipment to implement meaningful fire management projects.

This is an at-will 5-month position, with potential to renew and/or extend. Preferred start date 4 January 2021 with expected end date in May. The average work week is 40 hours, but the schedule may vary.

Interested applicants should review the Module Website and submit a resume, cover letter, and three professional references.  This position is open until filled with an initial assessment deadline of 20 December 2020. Please specify your earliest available start date.

The Forest Stewards Guild Fire Management Program is hiring an Operations Specialist! The position is based out of Loveland, CO. The immediate assignment will be to serve as the lead in day-to-day operations of a shoulder season squad focused on thinning, pile burning, air curtain burning, and supporting prescribed fire operations in the Cache le Poudre and Big Thompson watersheds. This position will reduce wildfire risk by burning slash piles, thinning forests, and assisting on prescribed fire projects.

The squad is part of Gravitas Peak Prescribed Fire Module, a wildland fire resource dedicated to increasing the pace and scale of prescribed fire. Gravitas Peak is a highly adaptable resource comprised of multiple wildland engines, a fully self-sufficient 10-person module, and appropriate overhead and equipment to implement meaningful fire management projects.

This position is open until filled. Please specify your earliest available start date.

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.

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.

Mt. Adams Resource Stewards (MARS) is seeking an exceptionally motivated, creative and team-oriented individual to build on successes and continue growth with our natural resource/forestry stewardship crew program. The successful candidate will work with MARS staff and partners to further develop a high capacity stewardship crew whose functions are integrated with a growing number of field projects for which MARS is responsible. Functions/activities of the crew typically include labor-oriented work, such as fuels reduction, prescribed burn unit prep and support during prescribed burning operations; tree planting; timber stand improvement; invasive/noxious weed control; and fence building; as well as more technical tasks such as stand exams and data gathering support for monitoring plots. MARS continues to explore possibilities for the crew to participate in wildfire suppression activities during emergency situations.

Closing date: open until filled, with a desire for applicant to begin work no later than February 2021.

The College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX invites applications for two (2) Geoscience Future Faculty (GFF) Postdoctoral Research Associate Fellowships. This competitive fellowship is open to individuals who aspire to develop research programs of their own as faculty members. The College of Geosciences is one of the nation’s most comprehensive Earth-system colleges and is committed to the discovery, advancement and application of knowledge fundamental to understanding our planet and its resources for a sustainable future. The College's disciplinary research and educational excellence are built on cutting-edge analyses and observations, numerical simulations and theoretical studies, and field-based data collection at all spatial and temporal scales.

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 Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM) at Oklahoma State University invites applications for a full-time, eleven-month, tenure-track position (75% Research and 25% Teaching) in fire modeling. The department is seeking a candidate to contribute to research related to understanding wildland fire behavior and risk in Oklahoma and the United States. Application and/or development of models to understand fire behavior at multiple spatial scales is required. Possible outcomes of research include improved management of fuels and smoke with prescribed fire, reduction of wildfire risk and mitigation of its effects to infrastructure, reduced impacts of smoke on human health, and improved ecosystem function. The successful candidate is expected to work closely with multidisciplinary faculty in natural resources, climatology, social science, and engineering to meet the needs of diverse stakeholder groups.

Review of applications will begin December 15, 2020, and will continue until a suitable candidate is identified.  The position will be filled by June 1, 2021, or as soon thereafter as an outstanding candidate is available.

These positions are located in the Pacific Northwest Region, Region 6 and located on a Forest Service unit. The primary purpose of these positions is to perform a variety of complex and recurring duties in support of various Natural Resource programs. The specific duties for the positions will vary based on the program of the unit.

This announcement may be used to fill positions with a seasonal work schedule where full-time work is guaranteed for 13, 18, or 20 pay periods and when not working, you will be placed in non-pay/non-duty status.

Information on specific locations where jobs are being filled and the dates when applications are due for these locations may be found on the Forest Service website.

The responsibilities listed below are at the full performance level:

• Performs as a Certified Timber Marker.
• Prepares, develop, and executes timber cruises and sample surveys to develop resource information and estimate quality and quantity of timber for purpose of appraisal, sales administration, management planning, and logging plans.
• Performs wildland firefighting and prescribed fire duties as qualified and assigned.
• Assists in the implementation of recreation operation and maintenance plans for developed and dispersed recreation sites.
• Performs complex tasks in support of the vegetation management program and project plans. Prepares and analyzes plant samples.

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.