SCA Boise Office 1491 Tyrell Lane Boise, ID 83706 208.424.6734
2012 Summer Veteran Fire Corps Teams [1]
The Veteran Fire Corps will consist of 2 teams that will be comprised of recent-era Military
Veterans with the training, credentials and experience they need to competitively pursue wildland fire and/or forestry careers. Teams will be based in the Black Hills National Forest and Kaibab National Forest. Teams will provide assistance with habitat restoration and maintenance on agency and partner lands. Projects may include but are not limited to participation on prescribed fires, fuels reduction, fire effects monitoring, FIREWISE educational outreach and pre fire preparation of burn units. This position offers a great variety of field and office work including: hiking forest settings gathering field data, using manual and mechanical means to construct fire line. The work schedule may vary, typical work hitches could include working up to 4 consecutive 10-hour days with 3 days off. Site-specific work schedule and details are developed by the SCA Project Leader and with guidance from the local US Forest Service Fire Ecologist
Black Hills National Forest (5/21/12 – 8/17/12) PO-00047159 / PO-00047160
The Black Hills are in western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, covering an area 125 miles long and 65 miles wide. They encompass rugged rock formations, canyons and gulches, open grassland parks, tumbling streams, deep blue lakes, and unique caves. Land and Resource Management projects are undertaken to improve forest health by reducing fire hazards, increasing resistance to insect attacks, and improving tree growth, diversity, range conditions or wildlife habitats throughout the 1.5 million acres on the Black Hills National Forest including 300,000 acres of intermixed non-federal lands. Some of these projects include tree thinning and prescribed burning, invasive plant treatments, livestock grazing, and hardwood enhancement. The team primary purpose will be the thinning of hazardous vegetative fuels in the Wildland Urban Interface. Hazardous fuels work may include thinning vegetation, hand piling fuels, limbing and brushing vegetation, and prescribed fire. All work will consist of hand work with chainsaws and hand tools.
Kaibab/ Prescott National Forest (5/21/12 – 8/17/12) PO-00067211
The forest is nestled on the Colorado Plateau. The Mogollon Rim forms the south boundary. Grand Canyon National Park bisects the center of the forest. To the north, the forest extends almost to the border with Utah. Elevations range from about 3,000 feet to 10,418 feet at the top of Kendrick Mountain. Beginning in low elevation grasslands and sagebrush, the forest steps up through forests of pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine to fir, spruce and aspen. The team’s primary work will be reduction of hazardous fuels in Wildland Urban Interface areas. Hazardous fuels work may include thinning vegetation, hand piling fuels, limbing and brushing vegetation, and prescribed fire. All work will consist of hand work with chainsaws and hand tools.
General Information:
o Teams consist of 5 members and 1 SCA Project Leader
o Veterans Fire Corps Training starts on May 21st
Extensive training will include: SCA staff & member expectations, Wildland Fire Fighting Red Card Certification, Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Leave No Trace, defensive driving, GPS, tools usage and safety, chainsaw usage and safety, any other necessary training specific to each project.
o Housing will be provided and vary depending on location
o Team will be traveling extensively and required to camp in some instances
o As most sites are remote, it is strongly recommended (but not required) that team members bring a personal vehicle to use on their off-time.
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2012 Summer Fire Corps Teams [4]
The Fire Corps has 2 teams throughout the country this summer 2012 season, they are:
o Fire Monitoring Team, Dixie National Forest, UT
Duration: 5 mos. 5/16/2012 – 10/3/2012
A team of two Corps Members with one Project Leader will be on the Dixie National Forest conducting fire monitoring plots in various habitats. The team will travel by truck and foot hiking up to 8 miles/day at elevations exceeding 10,000 feet over Utah’s rugged terrain to collect/record vegetation and landscape data, 80%; manage data, 15%; and present project information and results in organized formats 5%. The team will need to be able to distinguish up to 20 different species of plants by their Latin and common name. The team will also need to follow strict data protocols and operate a Trimble GPS unit independently.
o Community Wild Fire Protection Plan Team, State of North Carolina
Durations: 6 mos. 5/16/2012 – 11/16/2012
The team of 5 Corps Members will research and gather existing data for a Community Wildfire Protection Plan: 50% -- Work in collaboration with county rangers, fire marshals, emergency response managers and fire chiefs. 20% -- Organize and hold a community meeting for each district to present findings and educate about the planning tool for future mitigation. 30% -- Use GPS units to collect way points, assess communities for hazard levels and work with the public in education and implementation. Excellent organizational and communication skills; outgoing personality; experience/desire living with and working in a group environment; ability to take initiative and work both independently and as part of a team; experience using GIS and GPS is a must.
General Information:
o Teams consist of 2-4 members and 1 SCA Project Leader
o Extensive training will include: SCA member expectations, Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Leave No Trace, defensive driving, GPS, environmental education, any other necessary training specific to each project.
o Housing will be provided and vary depending on location
o Outreach and education is an important component to this position, and will include community activities and a mid-season project of your interest.
o As most sites are remote, it is strongly recommended (but not required) that team members bring a personal vehicle to use on their off-time.
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Summer Season Begins! [10]
Greetings from the Fire, Native Plant, & Restoration Corps!
We finished up last week with another successful Corps Member Training in McCall, ID for the Fire & Native Plant Corps! Our group of Corps Members and Project Leaders from all over the country came together for a five to eight day training (May 26-June 3) at the University of Idaho McCall Outdoor Science School Campus. Our days were filled with rain and learning about SCA, risk management, ecology, wilderness first aid, chainsaw skills, and monitoring skills as well as giving them the opportunity to hike when the sun was out, experience an Idaho hot spring, or for the really brave a swim in the lake!
A big thank you goes out to all our Project Leaders (Chris, Michael, Anna, Bobby, Patrick, Tyler, Adam, Kara, Annie, Calicoe, Joe, Stephanie & Molly) who also did some substantial on-site training before arriving in McCall and to the Managers/Coordinators (Meredith, Hannah, & Mike) who helped with all the preparations! As well as those who came to present in McCall (Jay Satz, Jill Baum, Kat, Robin, Aerie and U of I staff) thank you for making this such a successful training! And lastly thank you to all of you (especially Leslie & Nikki) who were behind the scenes helping us recruit, interview, screen, process, invoice, and assist us along the way so that we could fill 49 corps member spots for this summer season. You all rock!
Meanwhile, our two Restoration teams were being trained up for their summer seasons in the El Dorado National Forest and High Schells Wilderness. Steve Hester and Jamie Weleber led the training for the Cabin Restoration team led by Alex Vanderby that will be working on maintaining historic cabins in the El Dorado & Stanislaus National Forest before ending with a boardwalk project in Tahoe. The second summer Restoration team training was lead by Darren Gruetze and Emily Frankel for the Ely, NV restoration team lead by Zach McBride. This team will be working on eliminating line of site on old roads going into the wilderness area. Sorry I don’t have any pictures of either of these successful trainings, too.
In summary, here’s a list of our sites for this summer and the one Native Plant team that started this spring. If you are in the area of one of our sites this summer, please stop by and visit!
Fire
North Carolina Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) team
Dixie & Fishlake National Forests team
Wayne National Forest—Athens District
Wayne National Forest—Ironton District
Angeles National Forest
Native Plant
Cuyahoga National Park
Mammoth Caves National Park & State of Kentucky
Grand Canyon National Park
Superior National Forest—Ely District
Superior National Forest—Grand Marais District
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park—Hancock
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park—Oldtown
Southeast Exotic Plant Management (Asheville Corridor)
Restoration
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest—Ely District
El Dorado/Stanislaus/Tahoe (Historic Cabin Restoration)
Please check out our progress this year on our project websites by following the link on the main SCA website: Serve/Conservation Corps/From the Field.
[12] - Add new comment [13]
Tom Moutsos [14]
Southwest Regional Program Director
SCA Young Adult Programs
510-832-1966 x5309
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Program Overview [16]
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ABOUT CONSERVATION CORPS—FIRE
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SCA's Conservation Corps—Fire program engages young adults in meaningful service learning opportunities to support resource managers in the protection of natural resources and Wildland Urban Interface communities.
As part of SCA’s Conservation Corp program, the Fire program works to provide the human resources to support government and non-profit initiatives to conserve and restore North America’s natural resources and protect Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) communities. The Conservation Corps—Fire program coordinates teams of volunteers for projects ranging in length from 3 to 12 months at conservation sites across the country. Projects are designed to:
Provide agencies and organizations with the people power to complete fire initiatives to conserve and restore healthy natural resource areas and protect WUI areas. This is regularly accomplished through fire monitoring, fire management, and community outreach and education.
Provide volunteers with practical field experience to benefit their professional development and commitment to conservation service.
Conservation Corps—Fire program and field staff members provide agencies with management and logistical support to design and implement successful projects, including:
Position description and work plan development.
Volunteer recruitment and placement, training and oversight.
Project documentation and evaluation to measure successes and opportunities for growth.
Multi-year project continuity establishment.
Housing, transportation and equipment logistics.
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CONSERVATION CORPS—FIRE PROJECTS
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Fire Education & Outreach
In 2001, the Fire Education Corps (FEC) began working with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Resources & Conservation Development (RC&D) in Idaho and Nevada. In 2002, our partners expanded to include Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and National Park Service (NPS). As new partnerships were developed, project sites grew nationwide. In 2003, the US Fish & Wildlife service (FWS) added an element of prevention and provided a unique opportunity to assist with prescribed burns. The Fire Education Corps’ main focus is to provide education and prevention messages that increase awareness of wildland fire and human caused ignitions. Primary examples include developing & implementing education curriculum for youth; developing & distributing fire safety tip cards, handouts, and flyers; home assessments; media involvement; mapping projects; community events; fuels reduction projects; and patrolling.
Fire Management
In 2004, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) steered the Fire Education Corps focus in the direction of fire management activities. The Fire Management teams primarily concentrate on prescribed fire, fuels projects, fire effects monitoring, mapping, and other manual treatments.
Community Wildfire Protection Plans
In response to developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) with the State of North Carolina in 2007, a new wildfire planning and coordination emphasis was added to the Fire Education Corps. Common CWPP efforts include collecting community data; database entry; meeting & coordinating with county rangers, fire chiefs, and emergency management officers; digitizing GIS layers; and community presentations.
Fire Monitoring
In 2003, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) piloted their fire monitoring (FIREMON) project with SCA. Since the establishment of the first successful FIREMON project, programming continues to grow nationwide. In 2006, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service (USFS) followed the BIA’s lead by adding their own fire monitoring team. The teams’ primary focus is to use monitoring protocols, basic vegetation identification techniques, GPS, and GIS to collect an array of data that can be used as a natural resource management tool. Primary duties include traversing resource areas while collecting & recording vegetation and landscape data; managing the JFIREMON database; creating GIS maps; and presenting project information and results for agencies.
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