Talking about the weather is common in everyday conversation, but talking about all the work that goes into collecting weather data is a bit more complicated. When it comes to firefighter and public safety, it is essential to gather localized weather data for fire management - a job for remote automatic weather stations or RAWS. The BLM Remote Sensing/Fire Weather Support Unit maintains over 2,300 RAWS units in the WXx Weather system network. Branch Chief Robbie Swofford, Depot Section Supervisor Justin Dopp, and Electronics Technician Cindy Sherfick discuss their mission to keep all components of the RAWS stations operational. They talk about their career paths, interesting animal encounters, and why they enjoy what they do. From the first incident RAWS - developed by this unit and deployed to meet more temporary needs for weather information, mainly due to wildfires or other natural disasters - to the growing infrastructure of permanent RAWS, this essential unit/program has the important and critical job of ensuring wildland fire managers, and others who may rely on weather data to operate safely, are receiving timely weather data. WXx Weather information is publicly available at https://weather.nifc.gov.

The award-winning National Fire Equipment Program (NFEP) located at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) incorporates firefighter innovation with industry expertise to provide the Department of the Interior with economical, safe, and efficient fire equipment. The program is responsible for around 1,200 fire vehicles in the BLM, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs fleets. John Fitchner, NFEP manager, and Justin Lammers, production assistant equipment specialist, talk about their wildland fire careers on the road to the NFEP and explain how the program operates. The NFEP continually seeks improvement in all aspects of support, evaluation, and development of fire equipment through proactive training and communication. John and Justin also discuss their involvement with training events and reviews, new technology, and improved safety features; some of which led the program to be awarded the 2018 Pulaski Award for continued excellence in equipment innovation and development. Piper Brandt, BLM Fire Public Affairs Specialist, also debuts as the new Wildfire Matters podcast co-host.

Michele Crist, landscape ecologist for the Bureau of Land Management fire planning and fuels management program, studies landscape changes in the environment including research on non-forested burned areas, invasive species, and sagebrush conservation design. Her work is focused on developing landscape-scale modeling frameworks and restoration strategies for sagebrush lands, forests, and wildlife habitats. Michele discusses her education, career, and research developing science-based land management goals and objectives to help with land management policy and planning processes and assesses the impacts of existing or proposed land management on ecological resources and wildlife habitats.

Ever wonder what happens to a burned area after a wildfire? How about the seeds used for land restoration? Jake Ferguson, the BLM National Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ESR) program lead, talks about the immediate emergency actions taken to stabilize the land, the burned area rehabilitation (BAR) process and the work that goes into post-fire recovery which may include seeding when deemed necessary after a damaging wildfire. Brandon Brown, BLM National Seed Coordinator explains the National Seed Warehouse System (NSWS) developed to streamline seed buying for various types of land management projects, including ESR, and ensure that high-quality seed - of which 90% purchased is native seed - is readily available for the field when needed. We discuss the importance of both programs and how they are critical to support the BLM mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Coleen Haskell, Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) Program Manager, and Karen Dante-Wood, JFSP Technology Transfer Specialist, introduce us to the program created by Congress in 1998 to provide funding and science delivery for studies associated with managing wildland fire, fuel, and fire-impacted ecosystems. We discuss the history, background, and the collaborative efforts among fire researchers, managers, academic professionals, and others to provide accurate, current, and scientifically based information for our wildland fire community. We talk about the studies provided by the Fire Science Exchange Network to improve firefighter safety and health along with understanding the science behind wildland fire to justify management decisions and apply scientifically proven solutions to wildfire management issues.

Learn more about JFSP and to stay informed about new research, sign up for Friday Flash eNews at https://www.firescience.gov/

BLM Fire employs over 3,600 wildland firefighters and support personnel nationwide. Since premiering in 2022, the Wildfire Matters podcast has focused on BLM Fire employees in the various positions supporting wildland fire management. If you are interested in learning how some BLM Fire employees found their professions and why they stayed, Carrie Bilbao and Jennifer Myslivy invite you to listen to this recap of previous episodes as they discuss and highlight the people, positions, and career paths in wildland fire management, including their own. This episode was recorded on October 3, 2023.

There are quite a few questions swirling about the new Wildland Firefighting positions in the Wildland Fire Management 0456 series recently reclassified by Office of Personnel Management (OPM). While there are a lot of unknowns yet to be worked out, Jeff Arnberger and LJ Brown, BLM Fire Operations, Cindy Pogue, BLM Fire Human Resource Officer, and Rob Berger, BLM Fire Senior Advisor discuss the new wildland firefighting positions and answer some questions submitted by BLM employees about this new 0456 series - what it means to current and new wildland firefighters. The panel of wildland fire management and human resource professionals provide some background and talk about the advantages of having Wildland Firefighting positions for federal wildland fire management programs. As we learn more about the 0456 series, we will post some frequently asked questions on the website: www.nifc.gov.

Steve Shaw, BLM Fire Branch Chief of Preparedness and Suppression Support, talks about his wildland fire management journey starting on an engine crew in Montana, to hotshot in California, fire management in Arizona, and currently supervising the preparedness and suppression support program for BLM Fire at the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho - the program that provides the logistics and communications that firefighters need to get their job done. We discuss the in-and-outs of being an incident commander (IC) and the importance of mentors in your career. Steve provides insight into some challenges we face for the future, is encouraged by changes we are making, and offers some advice for people getting into the profession of wildland fire management.