#wildlandfire

They walk into landscapes that look like the end of the world and call it a workday.

Wildland firefighters remain some of the most underpaid “essential” responders, despite operating in conditions that push human limits. From smokejumpers dropping out of the sky into active fire zones, to hotshot crews carving lines through walls of flame, to helitack teams threading aircraft through smoke-choked air ~ these crews take on risks most people will never fully grasp. And yet, many start at wages around $13 to $15 an hour, often relying on grueling seasons stacked with 1,000 or more hours of overtime just to reach something resembling a livable income.

They are the quiet backbone of wildfire response. Highly skilled, relentlessly hardworking and grounded in a kind of grit that doesn’t ask for recognition, even when it deserves it most. These are not just firefighters. They are endurance athletes, problem-solvers, and protectors of land, homes, and lives.

Unsung, yes... and anything but ordinary.

This is by far the funniest panel name and description I've ever seen.

Alt Text: Conference brochure panel entry.

Not in Our Name, You Don't! Wildland Firefighters Critique Logging-for-Firefighting in Executive Orders and Legislation.

Panel 2, 9:00-10:30am, Room: LAW 282.

Conservationists are challenged by a swarm of reactionary forestry policies that falsely claim increased logging and road-building will improve fire suppression efficiency and prevent megafires. This panel will provide a wildland firefighter's critique of these executive orders and congressional bills, and explain how the exact opposite is happening: fire management is being sabotaged by the current regime's industrial forestry policy agenda.

Panelists: Timothy Ingalsbee, Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology

Carson States, Wildland Firefighter

Liz Crandall, Former USFS Wildland Firefighter

End Alt text.

Can't wait to wake up too early to go see wildland firefighters be professionally pissed at the government in front of a room full of environmental and human rights lawyers, activists, indigenous people, policymakers, and members of the public eager to learn how they can be a fucking problem to the Trump Administration's bullshit.

Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium) is a wildflower that grows in open, sunny areas like grasslands, savannas, barrens, and glades. This plant is uncommon in the state of Ohio, known only from a handful of counties and listed by the state as potentially-threatened.

Like other plants of grasslands, savannas, and barrens, Rattlesnake Master benefits from fire. Fire helps Rattlesnake Master spread and increase in numbers, as seeds readily germinate and grow in areas that were just burned.

Governors Park Firewise Fuel Mitigation Event Date: March 22, 2025 Location:  Governors Park Credit: Kim Kosmas, PF&R