Fire Resilience Futures: Workforces, Careers, and Livelihoods in the Western U.S.

A group of firefighters wearing yellow shirts and green pants carry backpacks and drip torches at a prescribed burn in a ponderosa pine forest.

Overview

What does (re)creating good livelihood systems for fire resilient communities look like?

Helping landscapes and communities become fire resilient requires ongoing work. This includes civic efforts like advocacy, education, and governance, as well as field work like stewarding lands and food systems (including prescribed and cultural burning), managing wildfires, and retrofitting the built environment. There are increasing calls for large-scale investments in workforce development to meet these needs. 

Workforce discussions often leave out historical contexts, projected changes, and the perspectives of current and future workers and practitioners who are working on or toward fire resilience. Workforce development initiatives can perpetuate colonial and extractive labor practices that continue to harm workers, communities, and ecosystems. Collaborative research led by FireGeneration Collaborative and the Ecosystem Workforce Program, characterizes and reimagines the workforces supporting fire resilience in the western U.S. 

Who We Are

The FireGeneration Collaborative (FireGen) aims to reimagine and transform fire culture, community governance access, and equitable solutions by centering Indigenous leadership and diverse young generations. 

The Ecosystem Workforce Program (EWP) at the University of Oregon is an applied social science research group focused on the intersection of economies, ecosystems, and communities. 

This research is funded by the Resource Legacy Fund. 

Brightly colored logo with hills and a river topped by flames and Fire Generation Collaborative
Black fir tree in front of grey hills with Ecosystem Workforce Program

Our Approach 

We draw from four methods:

  1. Literature review of historical themes, existing knowledge, and active recommendations about fire resilience workforces and livelihoods.
  2. Interviews with experience fire personnel and subject matter experts.
  3. Collaborative listening circles with young people (ages 16-30) who are working in fire careers or interested in future involvement.
  4. Surveys to understand young peoples' interest in involvement in fire-related efforts. 

Our research seeks to offer insights and recommendations in ways that uphold Indigenous sovereignty, empower worker wellbeing, support historically-excluded involvements, sustainable workplace environments, and encourage local, decentralized action. 

Firefighters in yellow protective gear work amidst smoke in a forest, with sunlight filtering through tall trees. In the foreground, a red water pump and hoses are visible, indicating active fire control efforts.

Our Results 

Our research team is developing reports and insights for the fire community, decision-makers, philanthropists, and the broader public as an effort to improve careers, livelihoods, policies, and resource allocation in ways that enhance and expand fire resilience. A pillar of our process is accountability to our community partners. Collaborating is an ongoing and necessary effort to advance the knowledge created, and to uplift the visions and preferences of people most impacted by decisions made. Reference our project map and data table for our end of project products.

Fire Resilience Futures: Workforces, Careers, and Livelihoods in the Western U.S. Project Map

A diagram of key project areas, approaches, and learning and sharing products of Fire Resilience Futures: Workforces, Careers, and Livelihoods in the Western U.S. More information below in data table.

Key Project Areas

Approaches

Learning and Sharing Products

Existing Work: What is already known and what has already been done. 

Analyzing policy and management recommendations across pathways and sectors and models with transferable/scalable learning. 

  • Fire Paths Report
  • Enacting Change for Fire Futures Interviews 

Present and Future: Voices of people in these spaces. (approach 1)

Learning from communities of practice about what they do and where advocacy, learning, or sharing is needed.

  • Enacting Change for Fire Futures Interviews
  • Research Needs Survey
  • Portrait Series and Zine

Present and Future: Voices of people in these spaces. (approach 2)

Learning from the voices of the younger generations and early career individuals. 

  • Portrait Series and Zine
  • Listening Circle Report
  • Fire Futures Survey Report

Sharing Out: Engaging people with the research. 

Build collective vision and action through learning and sharing products. 

Project Wide Synthesis and Recommendations 

Learning and Sharing Product Descriptions

  • Fire Paths Report - Historical analysis, future projects, and policy recommendations review across livelihood systems in wildfire response, landscape resilience, and fire adapted communities.
  • Listening Circles Report- Listening circles with you people (16-30) in northern California and Oregon to understand early career experiences, perceptions, and futures of working in fire resilience.
  • Fire Futures Survey- Understanding young peoples' interest in fire-related jobs and involvement across the western U.S.
  • Enacting Change Interviews - Interviews with practitioners, organizational leaders, theorizers, and other subject matter experts to explore how to advance key workforce issues. The Research Needs Survey will help inform who we interview as well as how we share our research.
  • Portrait Series - Share stories of people who are interested in or working in the wildland fire field, as well as experiences, visions, and needs for the future. Interested in sharing your story? Contact Kyle Trefny.
  • Project Wide Synthesis and Recommendations - Share cross-cutting themes across the various parts of Fire Resilience Futures, as well as policy, investment, and organizing recommendations. 

Questions?

Contact Annabelle Law, Kyle Trefny, or Heidi Huber-Stearns