Conservancy Gains Access to Top U.S. Fire Management System

For almost two decades, The Nature Conservancy has been a leader in U.S. fire management and training. In workshops across the country, thousands of Conservancy staff and partners have learned safe, efficient fire management—advancing fire restoration within and outside the organization.

Earlier this year, the National Fire and Aviation Executive Board, a multi-agency group made up of the federal government's top fire officials, decided to integrate the Conservancy into its Incident Qualifications and Certification System (IQCS), the mechanism by which thousands of government employees track their fire qualifications and are dispatched to fight wildfires and manage prescribed burns. The Conservancy is the first and only non-governmental organization to gain direct access to the system.

"This is a major breakthrough—for both The Nature Conservancy and the federal government," said Jeff Hardesty, director of the Conservancy's Global Fire Initiative. "By including us in this system, the nation's fire leaders are showing how highly they regard our record of fire management and training. More importantly, this will help us better integrate the Conservancy's ecological message into agency land management practices."

The Conservancy will begin issuing qualification cards to hundreds of fire staff and volunteers later this year. Known as "red cards," they catalog an employee's fire credentials and, in the world of fire, are as important as Social Security cards.

Until now, only a handful of Conservancy employees have gotten red cards, usually through a partner agency. Ellen Jacquart, stewardship director for the Indiana chapter, has used hers to help state and federal partners as both a firefighter and a dispatcher. The assignments—at turns thrilling, exhausting and rewarding—strengthen critical ties.

The Conservancy's national fire training coordinator Sam Lindblom, whose workshops are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior, said these assignments develop key skills. Although Conservancy staff performed more than 100,000 acres of prescribed burns last year, a stint fighting wildfires provides a different experience that can make them better fire professionals.

For more information:

• The Nature Conservancy Fire Initiative
  Fire has shaped ecosystems and life around the globe, but in many ecosystems today, the role of fire is severely out of balance, threatening to devastate communities. The Nature Conservancy has launched the Fire Initiative to counter these threats to global conservation.
• Fire Training by The Nature Conservancy
  The Nature Conservancy has conducted more than 80 fire workshops across the country since 1986. Having served more than 2,500 students to date, TNC has earned a reputation for its innovative, experiential approach to learning and dynamic, interagency cadre and student bodies.
• Archive of our past Saves of the Week and Success Stories
  Read more about our work to save the last great places on Earth.