Prescribed Fire Portal

The Kankakee Sands Land Steward leads work teams to ensure the coordination, community support, and implementation of preserve management plans. They will maintain preserve areas frequented by the visiting public, remove exotic species, maintain tools and equipment, operate heavy machinery, help implement prescribed fire, collect and process native seed, and open/close the preserve to the visiting public. They will have direct management responsibility for a portion of the preserve and will assist in site-wide management as needed.  Participation in the Indiana fire program is an important aspect of this position, and the successful applicant will be expected to perform in a leadership role on prescribed fire. Similarly, this position will be expected to participate in management of on-site grazing programs and will either possess or develop skills related to animal handling, fence maintenance, and herd management.

This position will be located within USDA Service Center in Kenedy, Texas and will provide conservation technical assistance and conservation program delivery to private landowners within their assigned districts and other priority areas as appropriate. The incumbent will work in a joint capacity with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and other State and Federal partners to promote, accelerate enrollment, coordinate and implement the conservation provisions of the Federal Farm Bill and other wildlife related conservation programs such as the Grassland Restoration Incentive Program (GRIP). Activities will include program promotion (workshops and one on one meetings), contract coordination, conservation planning, conservation plan modification, site assessment and reporting. Incumbents will provide technical biological assistance for wildlife habitat enhancement techniques to private landowners and public organizations. Work with local chapters of Quail Forever (QF) and other local partners to increase habitat management efforts and participate in regional and statewide habitat meetings. Assist or coordinate activities and projects with other QF, NRCS, TPWD and Joint Venture staff. These positions will be employees of, and supervised by Pheasants Forever, Inc. & Quail Forever, with daily instruction and leadership provided by QF & NRCS.

The Forest Steward's Guild is looking to survey organizations that either currently practice prescribed fire or would like to in the future. This will help better understand the insurance market across the country and work with brokers and underwriters to produce a better product. They would like as broad of a sample as possible, spanning all types of fire practitioner backgrounds in order to best understand what is needed!

How you can help: take the survey and forward it to practitioners who might want insurance to implement prescribed burns or better prescribed fire insurance coverage than they currently have.

Prescribed fire is vital to ecosystems and is becoming widely regarded as a cost-effective management tool with major benefit. However, even the most carefully planned burn comes with some risk. This is an incredibly large barrier to implementation due to the lack of high-quality liability insurance available. This problem continues to grow as more agencies pull their prescribed fire insurance plans from the market.

The Forest Steward’s Guild has struggled with this exact barrier and has uncovered some currently available options and potential long-term solutions. For more information on the background of this project and FAQs, please visit https://foreststewardsguild.org/prescribed-fire-insurance

Nominations are now open for new members of the International Association of Wildland Fires' (IAWF) Board of Directors. Nominations will be accepted through September 30, 2019 and successful candidates will begin their 3-year term on January 1, 2020. Individuals meeting the requirements may self-nominate.

The Field Forester works closely with staff, partners, and contractors to restore forest health and stream habitat at a landscape scale in the Central Cascades while also striving to deliver social and economic benefits to the surrounding community. They may also assist, as needed, with forest management on the Conservancy’s or Partner’s forest holdings in the Willapa Bay or the Olympics Rainforest areas where the Conservancy manages approx. 35,000 acres.  They work closely with a Washington forest management team to carry out the following essential functions: 

Land Management & Forestry
Plan, implement and monitor forest restoration projects on Conservancy and public lands including commercial thinning and pre-commercial thinning, reforestation, fish habitat improvement, fuels reduction and prescribed fire projects, invasive species monitoring and treatment, forest road improvements, road decommissioning, and road maintenance.

• Collect field data on forest stand inventory and stream habitat conditions and may assist external scientific assessments.
• Provide technical input to management plans, harvest prescriptions, road layout and engineering.
• Implement property management activities, such as road, trail, and gate maintenance, garbage removal, and signing.
• Support third-party audits for certification according to the Forest Stewardship Council’s standards.
• Support management and reporting for a federal Habitat Conservation Plan covering the Central Cascades Forest.
• Support Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data collection and management.
• Maintain the Conservancy’s equipment, vehicles, and other resources.

Community Relations

• Develop and foster strong community and partner relations. 
• Process landowner use agreements and manage public access and recreational use as necessary.
• Support the Washington Forest Manager and forest management team.

Project Management & Administration

• Prepares, administers, and monitors contracts, and tracks spending against approved budgets.
• Provides technical oversight for land management activities.
• Writes proposals and reports progress and results of grant-funded projects.
• Obtains necessary permits for forest management, harvest operations, and road maintenance and abandonment work.

The Prescribed Fire Crew Manager coordinates day-to-day activities of the prescribed fire crew and participates in wildland fire operations which include ignition, control, mop-up, suppression, monitoring, etc. All TNC staff actively participating on a prescribed burn must be qualified as a FFT2. The Prescribed Fire Crew Manager will participate in preparing fire lines, maintaining equipment, post-burn monitoring and other tasks. May perform other preserve management duties when conditions are not conducive to prescribed fire.

The Burn Crew Member will participate in preparing fire lines, maintaining equipment, post-burn monitoring and other tasks. As part of the BCM’s ongoing professional development, they will be responsible for keeping abreast of new burn techniques and equipment to enhance skills and maintain/grow professional fire certification credentials.  In addition, they shall work to build and maintain relationships in the professional fire community and in the local community where the Conservancy works. This may include participation in wild land fire suppression activities in partnership with other non-profits, local fire departments, and local, state and federal agencies, either as a TNC employee, or as a volunteer or short-term employee of the partner entity (such as an administratively determined, short term federal employee).

The Assistant Burn Crew Manager supports coordination of the day-to-day activities of the prescribed fire crew and participates in wildland fire operations which include ignition, control, mop-up, suppression, monitoring, etc. All TNC staff actively participating on a prescribed burn must be qualified as a FFT2. The Assistant Burn Crew Manager will participate in preparing fire lines, maintaining equipment, post-burn monitoring and other tasks. May perform other preserve management duties when conditions are not conducive to prescribed fire.

Use the link below to take the survey.

This incumbent leads a small crew in the collection and processing of data for scientific research conducted by the Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team. There are multiple existing projects for field data collection. One project will focus on three-dimensional characterization of wildland fuels in multiple locations across the country, including the Rocky Mountain region and the south eastern United States. Another project will focus on pre and post-fire fuels inventories in prescribed burn units in central Utah. The aim of a third project will be to characterize fuels in grasslands in the south sound region of Washington.  These data will be used to assess fuel consumption evaluate the overall predictive capability of fuel consumption and fire behavior models. Plot data collection includes tree measurements, vegetation measurements and identification, and above and below-ground fuel quantification and classification. There will likely be opportunities to participate in other fire research projects throughout the season.

The PFSM prepares and approves Site Fire Management Plans and Prescribed Burn Unit Plans, modifies or exempts specific fire management guidelines or requirements as defined in the Fire Management Manual, with written justification. See http://www.tncfiremanual.org .  The PFSM hires, trains and supervises burn crews; mentors, evaluates and designates Burn Bosses, in writing, with notification to the Fire Management Coordinator; certifies RxB2 task books; and ensures that TNC’s fire guidelines and requirements are met or exceeded. The Fire Manager has the authority to temporarily suspend fire management program operations because of safety concerns or non-compliance with Conservancy standards. The PFSM provides technical and scientific support to Fire Planners and Burn Bosses, reviews proposed contracts for prescribed fire operations, provides comments to TNC legal counsel, and approves qualifications of contractors hired to conduct prescribed burns. The PFSM keeps current on internal and external developments and trends in the field of wild land fire management, builds strong partnerships with public and private partners, and keeps senior leadership in their area informed of fire program activities, needs, risks and accomplishments. This position includes participating in ongoing conservation planning and site design work locally and regionally.  The PFSM conducts a vigorous program of land management activities, many of which involve extended periods of physical work in demanding outdoor conditions, as well as routine operation and maintenance of Conservancy vehicles, including trucks with manual transmissions, trailers, ATVs, chain saws, sprayers, and field sampling equipment.  This position supervises several short-term employees, including field technicians and fire crew members, as well as extensive interaction and outreach with interagency staff, private partners, and volunteers. Other responsibilities include ecological land management of Conservancy and other priority lands, developing stewardship plans, exotic species control, and assisting with ecological monitoring and research activities.

If you haven't had a chance to submit your oral presentation or fire circle abstract for the 8th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, you still have time to do so! They are extending the deadline to accommodate summer schedules and those in the field. See the link below for details and submit your abstracts no later than Thursday, August 15.

Abstracts for poster presentations and attached meetings will be accepted until August 30, with no extensions.

Work in a joint capacity with Pheasants Forever, Inc. (PF), the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (NGPC) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to promote, coordinate and implement the conservation provisions of the Federal Farm Bill and other related wildlife conservation programs. Activities will include providing technical assistance to landowners regarding rangeland and wildlife management, habitat planning, precision ag conservation, contract coordination, conservation plan modification, site assessment and reporting. Conduct and coordinate training sessions that include workshops and tours for landowners and resource professionals. Provide technical assistance related to prescribed fire to private landowners and public organizations. Meet with local chapters of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever to help coordinate habitat and rangeland management efforts and participate in statewide habitat meetings. Implement conservation programs to improve rangeland management, grassland restoration, small grains and diverse cover crop use and wildlife habitat management on private lands. Assist or coordinate activities and projects as assigned.

The Vale Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking a group of career-focused women and other individuals to become temporary seasonal employees and/or on-call wildland firefighters for the 2020 fire season. Seasonal and on-call positions will provide support to wildland fire operations over the summer. This experience can help open avenues to future employment and career advancement in the Fire Service. If selected for this development program, the first assignment will be to participate and complete the Women in Fire Boot Camp. The Boot Camp will provide comprehensive Wildland Fire Training and orientation. Upon successfully completing this training, each participant will be certified for wildland firefighting.

The intent of the Boot Camp is to deliver basic firefighting training and an introduction to fire culture. Individuals completing this training will be provided opportunities to apply for seasonal employment and will be positioned to apply for seasonal and Casual Hires with the Fire Service immediately following this training. The plan for this year’s Boot Camp is to spend two weekends in October at a remote duty station on the Vale District. At this duty station participants will learn basics about physical fitness, dietary needs, basic outdoor camping and field skills, along with firefighter training. Training will be held October 11-13 and October 18-20, 2019, in eastern Oregon. To receive a certificate, you must attend both weekend sessions and complete all required training.

Application Deadline: September 6, 2019
Selection/Notification: September 13, 2019

The Northeast Region of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources is currently recruiting for four Non-Perm, State Uplands Foresters (Natural Resources Specialist 1) to join our team of Silviculture Foresters. 
 
Are you someone who loves the outdoors, and is passionate about natural resource forester opportunities in Washington State? If you love working in the outdoors, appreciate a remote natural environment, and have good practical field skills with a proven ability for working in a small team, then this is the job for you.
 
These positions will assist the Silviculture Foresters in implementing sound ecological forest management that generates revenue while improving forest health and habitat.  Position responsibilities include assisting in the layout of timber sales. This work includes, locating and marking timber sale unit boundaries, tree marking, GPS mapping, locating and delineating riparian buffers or other sensitive areas, road layout, cruising, and developing detailed summary reports. Additional silvicultural duties include conducting stand surveys, preparing and administering pre-commercial thinning, tree planting and fuels reduction contracts under the agency's forest health program. In addition, this position will assess the health of stands and recommend silvicultural prescriptions and harvest strategies.
 
We have opportunities available in the following locations:

• Arcadia (Deer Park, WA)
• North Columbia (Colville, WA)
• South Okanogan (Omak, WA)
• Highlands (Loomis, WA)