A recent article in The Guardian addresses the serious needs related to mental health faced by wildland firefighters, and the lack of resources available to help them address those needs.
Continue ReadingFire News
Webinar Recording: Passenger Pigeons A Force for Forest Disturbance
The webinar recording of the CAFMS webinar Passenger Pigeons A Force for Forest Disturbance is now available. Originally held on July 29, 2021, the webinar covered how this extinct species impacted forests in the U.S. Presentations by Dr. Ian Thompson (Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) and Ben Novak (Lead Scientists, Revive & Restore) introduce the cultural and ecological significance of passenger pigeons and consider what their disappearance means in terms of ecological disturbance processes and the implications for forest and fire management today.
Continue ReadingAFE Seeks Input on the 2021 Fire Congress
With the 2021 Association for Fire Ecology Fire Congress only 3½ months away and considering the uncertainties with COVID-19 and travel, AFE is seeking input on the in-person and virtual options currently being planned.
As much as organizers want to meet in person, the health of presenters and attendees comes first. In addition, they recognize that many people are facing travel restrictions. To help make an informed decision about having a hybrid or fully virtual event, fill out the survey in the next two days.
Reproductive Health Risks for Women in Wildfire
A recent piece published in The Guardian addresses the many questions surrounding the impacts of firefighting on women and their reproductive health.
Continue ReadingJoint Fire Science Program 2021 Funding Opportunity Notice
The Joint Fire Science Program (which funds the Southern Fire Exchange through a cooperative agreement with the US Forest Service Southern Research Station) has announced the opening of the 2021 fire science funding opportunity. More information here. The JFSP FOA closes October 14, 2021.
JFSP Funding Opportunity Topics
Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN)
The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) invites current master and doctoral students enrolled at colleges or universities within the US in the field of wildland fire and related physical, biological, and social sciences to apply for a Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) award. The purpose of a GRIN award is to enhance student exposure to the management and policy relevance of their research to achieve beneficial outcomes of funded work.
Social and ecological recovery of communities impacted by wildfire
The objective of this task statement is to inform the development or improvement of strategies, tools, and resources used for post-fire community recovery, such that they facilitate recovery efforts that increase the resilience of social-ecological systems to future wildfires.
Collaborative development of ecosystem mapping products for fire and fuels management
To develop, using a collaborative framework, prototype mapping protocols and products that capture current ecosystem condition, desired condition, and departure from desired condition at spatial and temporal resolutions relevant to fire and fuels management decisions.
Regional Science Exchange and Outreach
The objective of this task statement is to solicit proposals to lead and execute a particular regional fire science exchange for a period of one to three years. The JFSP funds and provides oversight to a national collaborative of 15 regional wildland fire science exchanges: the Fire Science Exchange Network (FSEN). The FSEN provides the most relevant, current wildland fire science information to federal, state, local, tribal, and private stakeholders within ecologically similar regions. The FSEN brings fire, fuel, natural resource, and land managers, practitioners, and scientists together to address regional wildland fire management needs and challenges. Please see the JFSP website (https://www.firescience.gov) for additional information about the FSEN.
Lightweight Respirator for Wildland Firefighters in Development
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is working with its partners to design and test a Wildland Firefighter Respirator that meets the specific needs of these firefighters. This new respirator system for wildland firefighters:
- Is chest-mounted and has a lightweight mask covering just the mouth and nose.
- Uses an electric blower to force filtered air to the mask, relying on AA batteries for power. During early testing, first responders gave S&T feedback that drawing air through the filter system could be tiring while hiking through wilderness areas.
- Relies on filtration instead of compressed air tanks and can go an entire shift before it needs changed.
- Weighs less than 1½ pounds.
Read more from the U.S. Fire Administration here.
Continue ReadingNew Fact Sheet: Longleaf Pine: A Tall Drink of Water
The Longleaf Partnership Council (LPC) has released a new communications fact sheet, Longleaf Pine: A Tall Drink of Water. This informational product showcases how protecting and restoring longleaf pine forests can help keep help keep drinking water safe, reliable, and affordable. The fact sheet also highlights how good stewardship can contribute to drinking water and the benefits for water utilities of investing in longleaf restoration.
The longleaf and drinking water fact sheet is the fourth in a series of communications documents that demonstrates how longleaf pine can provide certain advantages to landowners. The previous fact sheets featured longleaf pine’s resilience to insects and diseases, advantages during natural disasters, and unique tolerance to fire:
- Longleaf Resiliency: Insects and Diseases
- Blowing in the Wing: Advantages of Longleaf Pine in Wind Storms
- Thriving on Fire: The Resilient Longleaf Pine
NIDIS Launches New Interactive Maps on Drought.gov
NIDIS has released two new interactive features on Drought.gov that will make it easier for decision makers and the public across the U.S. to share timely, reliable drought information.
First, new customization and sharing options for all maps make it easier than ever to create custom, high-quality maps to include in drought or risk mitigation plans, share on social media or in media briefings, communicate with stakeholders, or report on drought impacts across the United States.
Second, interactive economic sector maps including one focused on wildfire management show sector-specific information alongside key drought and climate indicators provide vital information for private and public sector decision makers to monitor, plan for, and mitigate the impacts of drought.
View the Wildfire Risk mapping tool here.
Watch a tutorial video for the mapping tools here.
Continue ReadingCohesive Strategy Workshop Going Virtual
After careful consideration, IAWF has made the decision to transition the 4th National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Workshop to a fully virtual event.
Read more and register for the virtual conference here.
Continue ReadingJob: Assistant Fire Management Officer, The Ember Alliance, Colorado
Full job posting and application information here.
Responsibilities:
- Oversee daily prescribed fire and fuels management activities
- Apply the 5 principles of High Reliability Organizing to the ICS functions of Planning, Logistics, Finance and Operations and into everyday operations.
- Responsible for fleet management, supply/cache management and facilities maintenance at our Loveland, Colorado office.
- Manage and oversee Fire Operations staff members.
- Assist in the management of IQS, position task books and development plans for all fire qualified personnel
- Coordinate and organize remote fire crews.
- Serve as a subject matter expert, final reviewer, and/or author of burn plans.
- Coordinate wildland fire activities with federal, state, and local agencies/entities
- Ensure wildland fire policies are met.
- Deal with a variety of complex technical problems relating to fire weather, smoke management, fire behavior, and computer modeling.
- Provide leadership in the fire safety program and instills risk management principles in all program activities.
- Serve as Duty Officer for TEA fire operations
- May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain and under physically demanding circumstances.
- Ensure that fire personnel qualification records are maintained
- Plan, organize, and lead large scale collaborative burns.
- Demonstrate a strong work ethic, including a commitment to principles of Duty, Integrity and Respect. Actively participate in creating a kind, safe and healthy work environment which encourages the diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice of all people.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
- Passion for TEA’s ecological and social missions
- Strong communications skills
- Strong operational and logistical fire management subject matter knowledge
- Commitment to collaboration and partnership building
- Strong project and program management skills and ability to effectively multitask
- Excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach staff, manage, and develop high-performance teams, set and achieve strategic objectives, and manage a budget
- Double single resource boss (SRB, i.e. ENGB + FIRB) + ICT4
- Supervisory experience, including motivating, leading, setting objectives, and managing performance
- Experience managing organizational risk
- Effective knowledge of common software applications (e.g. Microsoft Office Suite)
- Desire to work in a fast-paced start-up environment
- Ability to live and work within commuting distance of Loveland, Colorado
Preferred Qualifications:
- TFLD (Task Force Leader) and/or RXB2 + ICT4
- Experience authoring and reviewing programmatic pile and broadcast burn plans.
- Experience in partnership development with nonprofits, community groups and/or government agencies.
- Strong mechanical experience
- Strong business acumen