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Washington

Firefighters Contain Refuge Fire September 2009

Refuge Hosts Biomass Project with Multiple Benefits August 2009

sWashington Refuge Conducts Long-Term Fuels Reduction Project 2008

New Blue Goose Fire Crew Offers Training Opportunities November 2008

Retrofitted Refuge Boat Makes a Splash on Fires August 2008

Firefighters Have Busy Season on Refuges August 2008

After successful year in 2007, Fish and Wildlife’s “Blue Goose” handcrew continues into the 2008 season Washington 2008

New Bluegoose Fire Crew Offers Training Opportunities for Firefighters 2007

Award May Include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2007

Refuge Takes on Hazardous Materials Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge - 2005

Fuels Management Pays When Wildfire Hits Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge - 2005

Leavenworth Fuels Reduction Project Receives National Recognition Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery - 2004

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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.