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The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Fire Management Program is responsible for protecting and restoring lands in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Pacific Islands territories.

Service Employees Travel Home from Australia

April 2009

After heading to Victoria, Australia in February and March to assist with record breaking wildfire activity, five Service employees returned to the United States. Four were deployed to complete specialized 30-day assignments.

John Saltenberger, FWS Pacific Region Fire Meteorologist, provided 24-hour staffing to the Regional Forecast Center located in Melbourne, Australia. Accurate weather information is critical to firefighter safety.

Doug Downs, Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), North Dakota, served as an Operations Section Chief for his tour providing direct fireline supervision to firefighters and heavy equipment working on the fire.

Ken Griggs, San Luis NWR, California and Lisa Jameson, Loxahatchee NWR, Florida, both worked as part of a team to analyze the impact of the fires on natural resources and to assist with burned area rehabilitation.

FWS Fire Director Brian McManus also traveled to Victoria to represent U.S. national wildfire decisionmakers and meet with international counterparts. He participated in a close-out briefing for American personnel and toured fire areas and facilities in Victoria as part of an opportunity for fire leaders in Australia and the United States to share ideas.

The post-assignment close-out took place in Melbourne on March 13. Coordination will continue between the two nations. Chris Wilcox, Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico, is expected to travel later this spring to Australia and New Zealand as one of two representatives from the Department of the Interior on a fire management study.

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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.