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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.

Firefighting Downunder-Style

National Interagency Fire Center -2004

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Fire Training Specialist Joette Borzik led the training effort for 52 fire personnel arriving from Australia and New Zealand, while Southeast Region Prescribed Fire Specialist Pete Kubiak coordinated their Aviation Training. The group included fireline supervisors, helicopter managers, infrared specialists, and numerous fire support staff, which have similar qualifications and command structures as firefighters in the United States. The visitors required some adjustment before fighting fire in the Northern hemisphere, including becoming comfortable with different weather, vegetation, and fire behavior patterns. They also received training in conversion of measurements and deployment of fire shelters, not used in their home countries. The fire specialists then embarked on various two week assignments on fires throughout Montana.

Firefighters from Australia and New Zealand trained at The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho (USFWS Photo)

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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.