Fire Management Homepage

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Keeping Fire On Our Side
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has been using and managing fire safely and cost-effectively since the 1930's, leading to lands being in healthier ecological condition overall, with lower risk of damaging fire. This long-term, balanced approach to fire management benefits both people and wildlife.
Hot News Partners Provide Midwest Fire Training For 7 days in Fort McCoy, WI, 28 instructors from Federal, tribal, state, and local entities successfully delivered hands-on training in prescribed fire and wildfire engine operations for 36 government employees, non-government organizations, and private contractors. Read more….   Mastering the Marsh There was no bull riding or calf roping at this rodeo. The 10 beasts showcased here at the Marsh Master Rodeo in Fergus Falls, Minnesota were of the mechanical kind. The Marsh Master, a fully amphibious tracked vehicle, was star of the show. Read more…
Service Example Protects Local Firefighters When seasonal firefighter Tracy Gingrich worked on a road-clearing project in 2009, little did he know his actions would prevent a fellow firefighter from sustaining serious injury in a chainsaw accident a year later. Read more…

 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages public land in every U.S. state and territory, including 550 national wildlife refuges and 70 national fish hatcheries.

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

More than 80% 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 300,000 acres each year on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. The Service also burns more than 350,000 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 500 permanent fire professionals, along with 200 seasonal and temporary fire employees during fire season.

More than 2,000 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.