• Making A Difference
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Making A Difference

Making A Difference

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Fire Management Program is built on the strengths and successes of its employees. Meet some of these individuals, who demonstrate leadership in using fire as an ecological tool to protect and enhance human and wildlife communities. Impressive safety records, creative solutions to complex issues, and a strong sense of duty all define these employees making a difference.

Region 1 Pacific Northwest	Firefighters receive briefing at Pahranagat NWR. (USFWS)
Kurt Thompson - Fire Management Leadership
Doug Frederick - Fuels Management Excellence
Region 2 Southwest
Carl Schwope - Fire Management Leadership
Don Kearney - Fuels Management Excellence
Region 3 Great Lakes – Big Rivers (Midwest)
Clifford J. Berger - Fire Management Leadership
Brian Winters - Fuels Management Excellence
Region 4 Southeast
Robert S. Eaton - Fire Management Leadership
Glen Stratton - Fuels Management Excellence
Region 5 Northeast
Rick Vollick - Fire Management Leadership
Joe Krish - Fuels Management Excellence
Region 6 Mountain-Prairie
Ken Kerr - Fire Management Leadership
Lorenz Sollman - Fuels Management Excellence
Brad Johnson - Fuels Management Excellence
Region 7 Alaska
Peter Butteri - Fire Management Leadership
Robert Lambrecht - Fuels Management Excellence
Region 8 California and Nevada Region
Bill Molumby - Fire Management Leadership
Dave Goheen - Fuels Management Excellence
Region 9
Kevin Conn - Fire Management Leadership
John Segar - Fuels Management Excellence

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.