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USFWS Employee Receives Leadership Award

Chris Wilcox, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fire management officer for the New Mexico Fire District at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, is the recipient of the 2007 Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award.

Wilcox received the award March 12, 2007 in the motivation and vision category for his outstanding contributions in developing and delivering new experiential learning tools. Firefighters use these tools and techniques to hone decision-making and other mental skills that are necessary in dangerous, dynamic and stressful environments.

“Many of the tools that we have developed and are delivering focus on human factors which have either directly lead to, or contributed to serious injuries or fatalities on historical wildfire events,” said Wilcox. “Because we have put effort into learning from the mistakes…we are building a ‘learning organization.’ "

The national award recognizes outstanding, demonstrated leadership in the principals and values of wildland firefighting. Recognition is made in several categories: mentoring and teamwork, motivation and vision, and initiative and innovation. The award was created in 2003 in honor of Paul Gleason, a well-known federal fire leader, mentor and teacher who is best remembered for developing the LCES concept for wildland firefighters (Lookout, Communication, Escape Route, and Safety Zone). Gleason died of cancer in 2003.

Recipients are named each spring by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) based on a nomination process, and may include individuals or groups from various agencies and external organizations. The NWCG is a national team of fire managers from the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Association of State Foresters, Intertribal Timber Council and the U.S. Fire Administration.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages public land in every U.S. state and territory, including 547 national wildlife refuges and 69 national fish hatcheries.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 75 million burnable acres, including 24 million acres of forest/brushland and 4 million acres of grassland.

More than 50% of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands in the continental U.S. (and more than 90% in Alaska) include fire-adapted ecosystems with vegetation dependent on periodic fire.

An average of 500 wildfires burn 260,000 acres each year on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. The Service also burns about 300,000 acres a year using prescribed fire.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annual fire program budget is approximately $80 million.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs more than 530 permanent fire professionals, along with 270 seasonal and temporary fire employees during fire season.

More than 3,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees are qualified to assist with wildland fire management on an interagency basis.

The U.S. Fish and Wildland Service Fire Management Program protects more than 700 communities and wildland-urban interface areas.

Historically, an acre was the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This measures 90% of a football field. There are 640 acres in a square mile.

More than 90% of the hazardous fuels reduction by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is completed using prescribed fire.