Chad Fisher selected as NPS Chief of Wildland Fire

Chad Fisher
Chad Fisher. NPS photo.

Chad Fisher, who has served as the National Park Service’s (NPS) wildland fire operations program leader since 2017, has been selected as the agency’s chief for the Branch of Wildland Fire. In this position he will lead the team responsible for operations, planning, budget, and science and ecology for the wildland fire management program.

Fisher began his career at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in 1990 after graduating from Haywood Community College with an associate degree in Fish and Wildlife Management. He spent the early ‘90s working at the refuge during the spring and fall fire seasons and the summer season on the Payette National Forest in Idaho. Chad was a member of the Asheville Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) in 1993 and the NPS’s Alpine IHC in 1994. He returned to school at University of Montana (UM) in 1995 ultimately earning a Bachelor of Science in Resource Conservation. He worked as a smokejumper in McCall, Idaho and a helitack crew leader for the interagency Lolo National Forest/Salish Kootenai Tribe while attending UM.

Chad worked on the Great Smoky Mountains prescribed fire crew (Wildland Fire Module) before receiving his first career seasonal appointment on the Lewis and Clark National Forest. He returned to Great Smoky Mountains National Park as the assistant module leader and module leader before moving to Boise as a training specialist for the NPS. In the mid 2000’s Chad was the national fire training specialist for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service then returned to the NPS as the wildland fire safety program manager. He received the 2013 Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award for his work with the Dutch Creek mitigations. In 2017 Chad officially became the program lead for NPS Wildland Fire Operations.

Chad is a member of the National Park Service Safety Leadership Council (SLC) and the National Multiagency Coordinating Group (NMAC). His wife Sarah works for the United States Forest Service and they are the proud parents of two sons. He credits his parents and strong mentors from his days at Pocosin Lakes and Alpine IHC with helping him establish a strong foundation early in his life and career. Chad enjoys spending time with his family, running, mountain biking, and sitting by the backyard firepit.

Chad will begin his new position on March 28, 2021.

Jennifer Rabuck selected as NPS Wildland Fire Safety Specialist

The position has been vacant since 2017

Jennifer Rabuck
Jennifer Rabuck, will be the NPS Wildland Fire Safety Specialist. (NPS Photo)

Jennifer Rabuck, a U.S. Forest Service zone fire management officer (FMO) on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Hayward, Wisconsin, has been named as the wildland fire safety specialist for the National Park Service Branch of Wildland Fire. Jennifer fills the vacant position left when Chad Fisher became the wildland fire operations program leader in 2017.

Jennifer began her federal service on the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho in 1994 and moved into her first permanent full-time fire management position in 2002 at the Leopold Wetland Management District in Wisconsin. She gained experience as a prescribed fire specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before moving into her current position as zone FMO. Jennifer has detailed as the assistant forest FMO on the Superior National Forest and as a National Incident Management Organization Safety Officer. Her experience with facilitated learning analysis teams, as a national cadre member for the You Will Not Stand Alone course, as a family/hospital liaison, and with planning for critical incidents will be a great addition to the NPS.

“I’m very excited to have Jennifer join the Wildland Fire Operations Program” said Program Leader Chad Fisher. “She brings a depth and breadth of experience, along with a fresh perspective, to our work serving the parks and regions of the National Park Service and in our interagency endeavors.”

Jennifer will relocate to Boise, ID and begin her new duties March 29, 2020.

Park Service, still without a Director, gets a new Acting Director

The NPS Director position has been vacant since January 2017

David Vela NPS acting director
David Vela. NPS photo.

The National Park Service has not had a Director to lead the agency since January 2017, when Jonathan Jarvis left the job after serving as director for eight years under President Obama.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced September 30 that David Vela, already serving as one of three deputy directors in the NPS, will now also exercise the delegated authority of the director. In other words, he was appointed to the Acting Director position.

Mr. Vela was nominated for the Director position in 2018 and was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but the Senate declined to take a vote. When the new Congress convened in January he would have had to have been nominated again by the President, but that did not happen. When he was nominated he was the Superintendent of Grand Teton National Park. After the Senate confirmation fell through, according to EENews he joined the NPS Washington Office anyway serving as the Deputy Director of Operations.

On October 1, 2019 Mr. Vela will take the place of the current acting Director, P. Daniel Smith who has been a controversial figure.

National Parks Traveler has three examples of recent forced transfers of high ranking NPS employees that resulted in them choosing to retire rather than agree to the moves.

Chad Fisher selected for NPS Fire Operations Leader

He had been the acting Fire Operations Program Leader for most of the last three years.

Chad Fisher.
Chad Fisher. NPS photo.

Chad Fisher has been selected as the National Park Service’s Wildland Fire Operations Program Leader for the Branch of Wildland Fire. In this position he will lead the team responsible for operations, safety, facilities, equipment, training, and wildland fire qualifications.

Fisher began his wildland fire career in 1990 at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina after graduating from Haywood Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Fish and Wildlife Management. Chad worked seven seasons at the refuge as a firefighter and helicopter manager. In 1992 he began to spend his summers in the west working on the Payette National Forest. Chad left Pocosin Lakes for a position on the NPS Alpine Interagency Hotshot Crew and to return to school at the University of Montana where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Resource Conservation in 1997.

While in college, he worked as a smokejumper and helitack crew leader. Upon graduation he received his first permanent appointment on the Lewis and Clark National Forest and then spent four years as the assistant leader and leader of the Great Smoky Mountains Fire Use Module.

In 2001, Chad moved to the National Interagency Fire Center as a wildland fire training specialist with the NPS. In the mid 2000’s he spent a little more than two years as the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s fire management national training specialist. Chad has been the wildland fire safety program manager with the National Park Service since 2008 and has been the acting operations program leader for much of the last three years. In 2013, he was a recipient of the Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award for his work with the Dutch Creek mitigations.

“I look forward to officially leading the Wildland Fire Operations Program” Fisher said. “I feel it is our responsibility to set others up for success. The Operations Program is comprised of accomplished employees. I’m confident our group will continue to be responsive to the field while also being strategic in our work and looking for ways to improve. It is important we do the right work so all NPS employees go home physically and mentally well at the end of each shift.”

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Art Prints

Two NPS employees receive Paul Gleason awards

Chad Fisher and Jim Shultz,. NPS, received Paul Gleason award
Chad Fisher and Jim Shultz of the NPS received Paul Gleason Lead By Example awards

From the NPS Morning Report:

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“Two staff members from the National Park Service Branch of Wildland Fire were recently awarded the prestigious Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award for 2013. The intent of this award is to recognize individuals or groups who exhibit Gleason’s professional spirit and who exemplify the wildland fire leadership values of duty, respect, and integrity.

Chad Fisher, wildland fire safety program manager, and Jim Shultz, wildland fire training program manager, each received the award. Only three individuals and one group from across the wildland fire service were chosen to receive this national award for 2013.

“To have not just one, but two employees, honored with this interagency award, really highlights the caliber of work and leadership by NPS wildland fire management staff,” said acting National Park Service Wildland Fire Branch Chief Mark Koontz. “Chad and Jim are outstanding representatives in their respective fields.”

bootsIn addition to his mission, vision, and dedication to ensuring that firefighter safety is always the number one objective on all assignments and every fire, regardless of size or complexity, Chad Fisher was recognized for his work with the Dutch Creek mitigations. Chad’s actions to reach across agency boundaries have contributed to a shift in culture regarding incident-within-an-incident planning. His dedicated effort to ensure  that staff  understand, weigh, and communicate the consequences of placing firefighters in harm’s way to decision-makers, along with  ensuring that there is a mechanism to evacuate injured firefighters, sets the example for all to follow.

He was also commended for his work with firefighter nutrition, the Incident Response Pocket Guide revision, leadership development activities, facilitated learning analyses, and serious accident investigation teams. Chad’s leadership exemplifies the values of duty, respect, and integrity.

Jim Shultz was recognized for his ability to develop subordinates across agency boundaries through programs like the Fire and Aviation Mentoring program and the National Interagency Joint Apprentice Committee. As memorial group supervisor for the Honor Guards and Pipes and Drums, Jim’s calm demeanor and leadership skills helped ensure all honor guards worked together to make the Granite Mountain Hotshot Memorial Serviceas seamless as possible.

As an advocate for leadership development, Jim seeks improvement and develops others for the betterment of the individual as well as the team and organization. This has been shown through field assignments and pioneering the wildland fire leadership and career development video series to help young firefighters answer questions regarding the rights steps to take toward a permanent career as a wildland firefighter. Jim exemplifies the values of duty, respect and integrity.

The award was created by the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee to remember Paul Gleason’s contributions to the wildland fire service. During a career spanning five decades, Paul was a dedicated student of fire, a teacher of fire, and a leader of firefighters. The intent of this award is to recognize individuals or groups who exhibit this same spirit and who exemplify the wildland fire leadership values of duty, respect and integrity.

Congratulations to Chad and Jim on their achievements.”

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Last year the awards were presented to Anthony Escobar, John Lauer and Shane Olpin.