Jay Lusher, a 15-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS), has been named Regional Fire Management Officer of the NPS Intermountain Region. Mr. Lusher is chief of fire and aviation of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. He will begin his new assignment July 22, 2018.
Mr. Lusher spent 15 years at Grand Canyon. He began working in the helicopter program in 2003 and eventually oversaw one of the most complex helicopter programs in the NPS. He became Chief of Fire and Aviation in 2012 and continues to embrace the application of fire throughout the landscape of the park both with natural and prescribed fire.
“The NPS Intermountain Region fire management program is diverse and complex,” Mr. Lusher said. “I look forward to being part of the team and managing wildland fire to protect the public, park communities and maintain and restore natural ecosystem process.”
He began his fire career in Wyoming in 1995 on a rural fire department. From 1996 through 2002 he worked for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management throughout Wyoming including a short stint as a structural firefighter for the City of Casper.
Mr. Lusher has been member of a national type 1 incident management team since 2006, working primarily in the Southwest and California.
He will move to Denver with his wife Robin, who currently serves as Chief of Chief of Planning, Environment, and Projects at Grand Canyon.
Congratulations to Jay!
Jay Lusher is an excellent choice. He will do an admirable job. It is nice to see someone promoted into such a position from the field instead of “the office” or academia.