The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plays an important role in managing wildland fires in the Great Lakes-Big River Region, which encompasses Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
Jennifer Rabuck from Leopold Wetland Management District, headquartered in Portage, and Mike Belsky from Necedah National Wildlife Refuge near Necedah, met with the President in the East Garden of the White House May 20 to talk about the upcoming fire season. They joined wildland firefighters representing other federal land management agencies.
"It was one of those lifetime experiences," said Rabuck, a Crivitz, Wis., native. "Its not something I ever expected to get to do."
Last year, wildfires raged through millions of acres, mostly in western states, causing billions of dollars in damage and destroying habitat for hundreds of species. In the midwest, fires most often used on national wildlife refuges and wetland management districts as a tool for wildlife professionals. Through a program of "prescribed burning," managers can simulate the natural wildfires that have for centuries removed dead vegetation, returned nutrients to soil and encouraged new growth. Prescribed burning also helps prevent the buildup of fuels that can contribute to uncontrollable wildfires.
Fish and Wildlife Service firefighters like Rabuck and Belsky are extensively trained professionals who plan and conduct prescribed burns on Service lands. In Wisconsin, most of their work centers around these planned fires, but wildfires also occur here on a regular basis. Fish and Wildlife Service firefighters are also considered a national resource, and may be mobilized anywhere in the country to assist in wildland fire suppression actions.
"We dont get the huge rolling fires here like they do out west," Necedahs Belsky said, "but the ones here are just as dangerous. We also have more houses, and increased wildland-urban interface here."
Wisconsin averages 1,600 fires per year, which burn an average total of 7,000 acres.
Wildland fire management is dependent on partnerships. The Service has 44 temporary and 45 permanent employees who manage fire in the midwest. To make the most of available personnel, federal land managers work with local, state, tribal and other federal firefighters during prescribed burning and wildland fire suppression operations. The work one agency does often makes life easier for all the others.
"The state of Wisconsin has an excellent fire suppression program that even includes air tankers," Belsky noted. Hes not totally impartial, though, as his firefighting career began with that state several years before he started with the Service in 1991.
Although he enjoyed working for Wisconsin, Belsky, a Mauston native, says he feels hes found his niche in working for the federal government.
"The best people Ive ever worked with are in the Service," he explained. "They just want you to be the best person you can be for the job, and continually enhance your skills with training."
Both Belsky and Rabuck started their careers with the Service as seasonal fire technicians before becoming full time firefighters. While fighting wildland fires or managing prescribed burns can be exhausting, filthy work, the camaraderie and challenge appeals to a certain type of person, according to Rabuck,
"Its a lot more holistic than the other things Ive done throughout my career," she explained. "Theres a physical aspect, of course, but theres also a mental aspect and an emotional one. Theres a lot of hurry-up-and-wait, but then theres a lot more hurry than wait at times."
Belsky appreciated the simple sense of accomplishment that comes with the job.
"Its nice, being able save a few houses and a few trees," he said.
The Regions fire program involves more than just federal employees on federal lands. The Rural Fire Assistance Program provides more than $1.2 million annually to enhance the capabilities of fire departments that help protect land managed by the Department of the Interior. Wisconsin fire departments received grants totaling more than $57,000 in 2002.
To receive funds provided by the program, fire departments must have a fire agreement with a local refuge or wetland management district wetland management district
A wetland management district is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office that manages waterfowl production areas in one or more counties. Waterfowl production areas are small natural wetlands and grasslands that provide breeding, resting and nesting habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, grassland birds and other wildlife. The Fish and Wildlife Service acquires waterfowl production areas under the authority of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act, primarily using funds from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps. The Refuge System’s 38 wetland management districts comprise thousands of waterfowl production areas – almost all in the Prairie Pothole Region of the Northern Great Plains.
Learn more about wetland management district , or be part of a statewide agreement with the State Forester who maintains cooperative agreements with rural and volunteer fire departments. Fire departments must also serve a community with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, and the funds can be used to purchase equipment and supplies, or to conduct fire training.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
ATTENTION EDITORS: High resolution digital photos of wildland firefighting are available by calling Abby Rodriguez at 612/713-5383
